GLITCHED
by EVOLustory
Summary: It wasn't supposed to happen, not to them. Not to two guys who were love rivals. It was entirely a mistake—one that you couldn't fix so easily, if you could at all. Now their whole world is in a mess, with them, their object of rivalry and the Goddess. Harvest Moon AU. [HIATUS: check profile for further details]
1. One: Into the Trap

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is based off the game _Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town_. For those who have played this or any other Harvest Moon games will understand this fic a little better. The characters here are mostly based off of the FOMT characters. And since FFN doesn't allow me to post a link, you might want to search up the game.**** You might also want to have a vague understanding of what "Heart Events" are. I do also mention "Color Grass" in this fic a bit too. If you wish to have me link you to anything specific for further understanding, feel free to PM me. Otherwise, please enjoy this fic! I enjoyed writing this a lot! Harvest Moon is one of my favourite games. R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Harvest moon. I'm only writing this for my entertainment.

EDIT: April 23, 2013 - Fixed many mistakes and changed a few lines that won't change how the characters think too much.

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Into the Trap<strong>

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><p>It was getting warmer and warmer as summer was closing in. A sweat drop slickly rolled down my forehead for the tenth time and I had only been out for half an hour. I ran my sleeve across my forehead and picked up my pace.<p>

I wrapped my arms around the basket and held it close to my chest as I jogged past the woodcutter's house and up the hill to the clearing at the foot of the mountain. Running in this heat was really unpleasant, but once I stepped onto the green grass of the clearing I wasn't regretting anything.

The best thing about summer was that wild plants grew all over the mountain clearings. The variety differed depending on the season. I also observed that after storms there were more plants than any regular day, which was weird considering the harsh winds would have killed most plants. By the way, storms only occurred during summers and winters.

On a weekly basis I climbed these hills to gather the scattered colored grass and flowers for research, but that was mostly just an excuse. I had already collected all the information I can with these plants. I come here simply because I was fond of the oddly colored grass and the place. Depending on the season there were occasionally edible pieces lying around, one being the wild grapes which I also adore. And they showed themselves in the summer too. One could say my favorite season was summer...if one were to subtract the elements of summer that I disliked.

The thing I disliked about summer was the oppressive heat. When more than five villagers were together in a room, the stench of sweat was just unbearable. Though it wouldn't be too bad if it were that simple, but I have yet to state my summer's greatest enemy—Kuroro Lucifer. He was the traveling merchant that came around only in the summer and I hated him with a passion. There were many causes towards that hatred.

One, he was—and still is—always in possession of the rare items that I had been searching for to retail them at a completely unreasonable price. Second, his personality sucked. He was such a cold manipulating bastard, always getting whatever he wanted with his twisted scheming and smooth acting. Lastly, he kept hanging around Neon and being overly friendly with her. I admit my interest in her comprised many levels of ulterior motives, but I will not divulge them now. In my defence, I will almost mention that Neon's brother, Leorio, also felt sorely about Kuroro. And Leorio was an honest, unprejudiced simpleton of a man. Not saying that I was anything but honest, but just saying.

Picking up the last Blue Grass in my field of vision, I tossed it in my basket and readied myself for the walk home. That was after I washed my face in the clear lake water nearby. My face would probably be toasted by the time I got home without any sunblock for protection.

After a few refreshing splashes of water against my face, I climbed down the hill and headed back for the library. And yes, I was the town's librarian.

With the heat taking the better of me, I decided to go against my principles and take the shortcut through the farm, trespassing. Tiptoeing across the little bridge, I marched passed the poultry shed with soft footsteps. On my way to the entrance, I stopped mid step and froze when I heard voices chattering up ahead. With a silent gasp, I attempted to run behind the apple tree but was caught halfway by the farmer's sharp eyes.

With a smile he called out to me, "Hey, Kurapika! It's rare seeing you here, what are you doing?"

I forced a smile and managed a little wave towards the new farmer. The previous farmer passed away due to old age and then this boy—who was probably only a few years younger than me—came along with the old man's will. He was a nice kid, this Gon Freaks boy, but he was simple to a fault.

"Just taking a shortcut, if you don't mind. It's just too warm today..." my sentence trailed off in an awkward long syllable as my eyes fell on the bigger man standing directly beside Gon.

Alas, it was no other than my tropical season's worst nightmare. Donning his usual black clothing, he slanted his eyes and smirked at me. I squirmed in disgust and spat out the two ugliest names in my lifetime, "Kuroro Lucifer..."

His smirk grew across his face and he gave me his little index finger wave, which only made me groan with disdain.

I took a breath in and continued my walk to the entrance, passing the house they were both standing in front of. With a quick nod to Gon's direction, I turned to leave.

But no, he just had to open his filthy mouth, that walking nightmare. "Leaving already, Kurapika? I was just giving Gon my summer's greeting, want to join?"

No. No way in hell. From the previous years, I've learned that it was never a good idea to "chat" with this man. He always found a way with words to make me flustered. And he found joy in doing so. And I used to think _I_ had a way with words. So much for being a librarian.

I shook my head and flatly declined, "Not with you."

I left the farm and sighed exasperatedly, mentally preparing myself for the coming two months and a little more.

_Summer is officially here._

The walk back to the library didn't take long, thanks to the shortcut I took. I unlocked the front door and pushed it open. Leaving the door unlocked, I pulled the curtains to the window aside and placed my basket under the counter I regularly sat behind.

Pulling my binder out from one of the shelves, I flipped through the pages until I found the page with today's date marked on it. Looking down the column, I saw that there were two books due today, and they were both under Leorio's name. All he ever borrowed were medical books, because he was studying to become a good doctor like his father. Though I must add that medicine was the only thing he was good at.

_Ding. Ding. _The bells chimed as the door flung open and in came a furiously stomping Leorio.

He took a chair from one of the tables and dragged it in front of my counter and sat directly in front of me, shoulders slumping and then rising with his heavy breathing. He slammed his fist against my counter and I sighed at what was to come.

"What happened now?" I asked as I pried my books from his hazardous hand.

He thumped his fist on my counter again and stated the obvious, "He's back!"

"Yeah, I know." I rolled my eyes and gave him my usual disinterested look. "I meant, what did he do now?"

His eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. Clearing his throat, he got serious again and said, "He's getting Neon all distracted from her studies and everything, like every year! God, I swear he's the reason why she never listens to me these days!"

I hummed as I marked the books from Leorio as returned and closed my binder. Bringing my gaze back to him, I performed a little brow lift and mumbled, "She never listened to you from the start, honestly."

I heard a growl escape his quivering lips, then the rest, "Hey! It may have seemed that way to you, but she used to at least listen to me when I talk. Now she won't even let me finish what I'm saying before running off and screaming I'm annoying!"

I nodded, yawned, and propped my chin up on my hand, waiting for his ranting to end. My eyelids dropped halfway down, with the thought of sleep tempting at the moment. Leorio's rants were almost always about his sister. I've heard every case more than thrice and most likely thrice more if I didn't stop him every time. He intended to pass this on as a tale of sort.

And once his mad lips stopped spilling out complaints, pop quizzing started.

"Kurapika? Are you even listening anymore?"

I nodded three times to reassure him that my ears were still working and my eyes were not completely shut. I added a soft, "Yes."

He pulled a long face and raised his eyebrows. "You _do_ hate Kuroro, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I hate him as much as you, if not more." I laughed bitterly and threw him a casual glance, but bit more weighted than usual. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to mock my stare.

I scooted back in my chair, causing a sharp screech in my expectancy. Picking the newly returned books up, I marched over to the shelf and neatly stacked them back into place, feeling Leoio's eyes on my back all the while. But I disregarded his waiting eyes and just continued doing whatever I was doing, and yes, I was aware of his declining patience.

Now his bombshell, "Can you please pay me some attention, Kurapika? I'm currently boiling up in anger, and you do not want to feel my wrath."

I rolled my eyes dramatically and responded with, "No, I do not. And that is why I'm teaching you patience, student." I turned my head around and shook my head in faked disappointment.

He played along with my act and laughed. "Well, I'm not learning anything. You must be one hell of a crappy teacher." His laughter ceased and he rudely pointed his finger in my direction, saying a little too seriously, "Can I have a refund?"

I would have loved to hear the sound my book—or his face—made when it collided into his forehead, but I treasured my books a few levels above hurting Leorio. Thus, I chose to ignore his question, sending him a cold glare instead.

"Isn't it about time you head back to the clinic? I don't really want you loitering around here, you know." I leaned my back against the shelf and snorted.

He groaned and mumbled, "There are hardly any patients these days other than Gon and Killua who get the wildest injuries I've ever seen. I don't understand how they could get such insane injuries, one being a farmer and the other being unemployed. Besides, today is Sunday. The old man already stopped by for his appointment, so there's really nobody else who would be coming in."

He sighed into his palm and added, "Also, the nurse if off today, so there is practically zero female body in that place. Is today like the worst day of my life so far?"

I coughed dryly and announced, "I'm not exactly a girl either, if you haven't noticed already."

He looked up at me with his mouth agape, about to say something, but I nodded and satirically added, "Just thought I should make it clear before any misunderstandings."

I saw him physically taken aback, half in shock and half in disgust. He raised his arms and persistently shook his head, saying, "Don't worry. I'm probably the straightest man you can find on earth. I was only saving the best for last."

In a way, this was kind of amusing on my part, but still, I'd rather have him out. I huffed and asked disinterestedly, "Best being?"

Almost instantly, his lips broke out in a smirk and he revealed his true motive, "Best being you and I going out to flirt with some girls! It's a sad truth, but girls dig you more than they do me."

In the blink of an eye, I was in his face, dragging him out of my library by the ear. "Honestly, that's all you ever think about isn't it?"

He squirmed under my secure grip of his ear and whined, "Ow! Hey! That's not true, I actually—OW!"

I dropped him on the stone ground and crossed my arms in my chest. Kicking him a little on the side, I reminded him, "I actually have better things to do than humiliate myself along with you. Now get out of my sight before I kick your eyes in."

The womanizer slumped in the corner of the sidewalk and complained about how things weren't going his way at all today. But I really couldn't care less about his day. If he wasn't going to go strutting off to drop himself on some woman, I'll go and get myself lost before he drags me along with him.

And that's exactly what I did. I pushed my key into the lock of my door and turned the key. Placing the key in my pocket I walked off to nowhere in particular, leaving behind a grumpy Leorio.

After a while of aimlessly walking in the heat, I wound up at the town's plaza. Surprisingly, there was no one there. Usually when the weather is not rainy, people would gather around here to gossip and whatnot.

Walking past the beach, I was aroused by curiosity. Turning to the left, I tried to peer into the beach from the entrance. Craning my neck, I tried to get a good look of the little shed Kuroro ran in the corner which was kind of difficult from my angle.

On behalf of my persistence, I stumbled a little too far in. The second the sole of my shoe touched the cement of the staircase leading down to the sandy shore of the ocean, all regrets filed into my brain in a mad dash.

Something was off. I could hear the alarming signals of foreboding ringing in my mind. I tried to turn back around and leave, but I couldn't. It was too late. I couldn't control a single nerve in my body; my feet were moving on its own. There was like a mysterious magnetic force pulling me into the beach. And if my eyes weren't playing games, I swear on my whole fortune that the atmosphere had just then hitched visibly before me. From what it looked like to me, the air tensed up at one point and convulsed...if that was even possible. But I felt it, the way it got harder to breathe for a moment. I also saw the little static sparks like dust falling from sandpaper.

Greeting me on the other side of the beach was none other than black dressed Kuroro with the scariest smile I've ever seen on his lips. Weird thing was that I had been expecting this.

Weirder thing was what happened next.

Forget the fact that I had just walked down to the beach by an unknown force. The more urgent matter on hand was the devil staring at me from the bench on the other end. His black holes for a pair of eyes stared right into the pupils of my eyes, looking straight into my soul and absorbing every drop of light. I watched as my vision blanked into a rush of white as the light left my pupils. Not that I could do anything else; I couldn't even blink. I was only capable of walking straight. My body was working by the power of a third party and acting so out of character, it was sickening.

Like smiling to my rival sitting a feet below me. However, I think it would be smart to correct myself. The word "stranger" could very well replace "rival" as it appeared to me the man sitting below me was everything but Kuroro Lucifer—save for his appearance.

But the decisive evidence to that claim came next.

He said, "It's good to see you again, beautiful. Sit with me until my break is over, please?"

And I reconfirmed my own crisis when I complied and sat right there on that bench beside him, barely five centimeters to separate us. You probably already know, but that was not what I _wanted_ to do. I wanted so much to just dash out of this creepy scenario and go back to humiliating myself alongside Leorio.

But _something_ just wanted me to stay put and go with the flow. I prayed, if the Harvest Goddess was still sane in her age, to please save me. Because I couldn't save myself and I think I was going crazy because of that helplessness.

Crazy to the point I said, "I'd like that."


	2. Two: In Fate's Hands

EDIT: April 23, 2013 - again, fixed grammar mistakes and a few other things.

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: In Fate's Hands<strong>

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><p>Sometimes I must admit I was like a living magnet that attracted only the odd, uncommon, and obscene. Up until this day, I had always thought of it to be a good thing. It always brought me to finding rare artifacts and unique animals wherever I went, but I would never expect to be encountered with...this.<p>

It all started when the air suddenly got tense and the waves stopped crashing up against the shore. Everything became seemingly soundless except for the sound of my footstep as I walked out of my shop.

I knew something was suspiciously wrong the second the air got heavier, but it wasn't until I left my shop that I realized what was wrong. It was me. And the whole beach.

I was making a turn to the left, toward the ocean, to see that the waves didn't stop physically. They were still sweeping against the shore, only without a sound. But before I could make a full stop, I was abruptly turned around one hundred eighty degrees by a part of myself that wasn't myself. My body moved without my command and sat itself down on the beach's bench before I could even blink in response. Apparently, I had zero control over my muscles, but my body could move according to itself. On the bench that I was perched upon I noticed a familiar silhouette strutting down the stairs. It didn't take long to see the same awkwardness in his movements too.

As he came close enough for me to make out his face, I was laughing so hard on the inside it was almost hysterical. Of the many people in this town, it just so happened to be _him_. His face was displaying a content smile, but I knew inside he was dying. Whatever event this was, it was keeping me amused just by seeing such an unnaturally happy expression on his face. I knew him, he hated me as much as I loved to tease and disrupt his psyche. This was only to be expected from rivals—or that's what he liked to label us as. In reality, I didn't even think of him as highly as a potential rival. It was crystal clear which of us Neon preferred. Sure, I was not around all year long, but that actually worked out better for me. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as a wise man once said.

When he finally made his way in front of me, he planted himself a foot away from me and simply stood there smiling down at me. His eyes stared down into mine, sending me all these mixed signals right now. Behind the forced friendliness in his eyes, I could feel the disturbance and turmoil directed at me. Then again, it would had been weird if it wasn't so.

I felt the corners of my lips pull back, and then in came a deep breath. The air left my lungs as my tongue formed a string of words that I had thought I would never be able to say, "It's good to see you again, beautiful. Sit with me until my break is over, please?"

That left a terrible feeling in my mouth. First, that was not something you would hear coming from my mouth voluntarily. It sounded too much like a cheesy pick up line you'll come across in _Pick-up Lines You __Shouldn't__ Use _books. Second, this was Kurapika I was dealing with. The Kurapika Kuruta who wanted nothing more than to have me exiled from this town. To say that to his face was like begging him to stab me in the heart with a dagger. At that moment, I honestly thought he would just punch the life out of me while I could only sit through it all.

But then I remembered our situation. He was just as incapable as me. Everything he did was probably out of his control as well. But that didn't mean I wasn't shocked when he said, "I'd like that." Truth was it gave me a fright in its own way. I was mostly shocked at the conversation we were having. It was most definitely not proper in terms of our usual exchange of insults. In fact, I can even say the previous conversation we had this morning was more of a proper conversation than this.

As to what was happening to us, I'm starting to catch on. With the flow of everything and the hint our greeting suggested, it wouldn't take a scientist to figure out our situation. I had a feeling it would be something like this when I noticed how the waves became silent. The phenomenon only occurred when you trigger a heart event with the girl that liked you in that way. Now a heart event was the special moment you're awarded with when your relationship with her significantly deepened. As in when strangers become friends, friends become close friends, and from close friends to love interests. During these few events, you obviously become much closer to the other than you already were. However, it was something up to fate to decide because the special events only happen when both parties felt the same for each other and the timing was perfect.

So from what you can see, the blond in front of me was nothing special like what I've listed above, maybe except the mutual feeling part since we both shared mutual disdain. So my point being, this should not be happening to us who were rivals. It was a mistake on fate's part, whatever fate was—though it seemed plausible to me that the Harvest Goddess played the role of the mastermind. Considering she _was_ the Goddess of this place. But for me, I didn't believe in any of those spiritual beings like gods. I believed only in myself and what my eyes witness. Say perhaps the Goddess here, for I had seen her in reality when I accidentally dropped a flower I intended to present Neon into the spring in front of the ore mine. The Harvest Goddess appeared from thin air thanking me for giving her an "offering". That was when I had first come to this town, across the ocean from my home town.

With the troublesome thought of this being a mix up, my attention was brought out of my calculations and back to the boy that sat uncomfortable close beside me. My mouth being its own being, said with false ease, "Say, what is your favourite season?"

My head turned to my right and watched as Kurapika voiced his answer, almost instantly. "It's summer, if you're going to make me choose. It's when most plants grow and it is also the only time of the year when Red Grass grows. Although it is poisonous if eaten, it just appeals to me that much more. Maybe I just like red, huh?"

I hummed quietly in response. I had never expected it be to such a simple reason, but then I realized it didn't take much to favour one season over the others. It was a stupid question to ask someone, in my opinion. But my body forced its reply from me, making me say much more than I wanted to reveal, "Right. I also like summer most. It's the time when I can come here and be away from my home town with an eligible excuse."

"Do you not like it there?" He immediately shot back with curiosity. I really didn't want to feed his curiosity. It was none of his business anyway. But fate seemed to want to make it his business, because I told him, "I hate it there. The place is trash to live in, literally and metaphorically. Everywhere you turn is garbage. Though honestly, I don't even know why I need an excuse to be away from there. It's not like anyone cares, but maybe—I just..." _want to have a place to call home and return to._ And I was glad fate at least allowed me to keep that much to myself. It would be weird if your rival knew more of your secrets than the girl.

He repeated softly, "It's not like anyone cares, huh?"

Then, almost as if I had control over myself again, I slowly looked down into the eagle-like eyes of the small librarian, returning his observant gaze I was unaware of. Then this was the awkward moment when we did nothing more than stare at each other and probably even try to figure out what the other one was thinking about, which I still had no clue what it was.

Looking away, I got on my feet and straightened my back. With my fingers combing through my slicked back hair, I heaved a breath and said loud enough for the both of us to hear, "Well, I have to get back to work now." Giving Kurapika another glance, I whispered, "Later then."

Staring back, he smiled as he mumbled, "Bye." He turned around and headed for the stairs, while I myself turned back around for my shop. I took a step off the ground, but I was suddenly jerked back and it started all over again. I was spun around and before I knew it, I was right behind him, hand on his wrist.

Pulling him to a stop, I told him quickly, "Wait, I forgot something." Slipping my fingers into my pocket, I hooked them onto a chain and pulled it out. Flashing it in front of his face, my lips pulled into a taunt smirk and I said to him, "I'm giving this to you." He whipped his head up and looked at me almost terrified, if I subtracted the obviously empty grin on his lips. I knew he didn't want it from me, but neither did I want to give it to him. I was planning to put that up for sale, if not for this messed up heart event. The necklace was worth quite a bit, compared to anything I had at the moment. It was only a jade pendant, but the handicraft was incredible. It was a cameo finely carved by skilled hands, I was certain, and the gold that enwrapped it was looped onto a moderate sized chain of gold. Although I was reluctant, my hands showed none of that resistance when I pulled the chain around his slender neck and snapped it onto place.

"There," I choked out with satisfaction on my face that didn't belong to me. I was starting to regret it now, coming out of my shop to inspect the waves. The beginning was amusing, but now it was just disappointing. I mean, I could have sold that piece for a lot of money. Not to mention I said too much I'd rather had left unsaid.

He nodded and thanked me and finally, I was able to control my body when he left. I moved my fingers about, testing them as I got comfortable again. In a daze, I gazed into the ocean and sighed. Somewhat bothered, I stalked back into my shop as my fingers combed my hair once again. Tousling my hair, I opened the drawer on my desk and took out a notebook I used to record artifacts I found. Flipping to the most recent log, I filled out, "Today I found a rare eastern jade necklace. But I gave it away—" and paused. I considered if I should leave it at that and end with a period or continue with a comma and then a name. Then I decided, "—to Kurapika."


	3. Three: What Is Fate

**A/N:** Wow, this sure took a while, huh? Sorry about that. 8'DD I was going to upload this last night, but FF was malfunctioning or something. Sigh. Well I'll shut up now, and let you read. Enjoy! Don't forget to review!

EDIT: April 24, 2013

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: What Is Fate<strong>

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><p>That next morning, I woke up with the worst headache. The dark circles under my eyes were evidence that I hadn't slept much at night. My hair was all over the place, a blond mess stuck against my scalp. My neck was wet with sweat from replaying visuals that I now doubted was reality. My brain suggested the slight possibility that the images that replayed over and over in my sleep might have been a fictional figment of my imagination, a damned nightmare.<p>

In all honesty, _dreaming_ I was in a scenario where I was having a friendly—too friendly—time with the Lucifer was more than a mere nightmare. It was probably the end of my sanity. And yes, I decided to believe it to be a dream because I really wanted to believe it was a dream. I mean, what was I going to do with a real live Kuroro? Make war?

Dreams can be forgotten easily, so let me not think about it and quickly forget.

I moved out of my bed, and made my way to the bathroom. Awkwardly making it to the toilet, I relieved myself of the waste that had built up overnight and flushed it down the drain. Heaving a big breath, I let out a noisy sigh. The day didn't start out so great, but it was still another day to live. Turning the sink's tap, I cupped my hands under the flowing water and let it fill all the way up my hands, throwing the ice cold water on face. It was refreshing, the coolness on my sticky face. I grabbed a nearby towel and wiped my face with it. Almost instantly, I missed the feeling of water droplets clinging onto my skin and eyelashes. My hands reached for the taps again, wanting the water on my skin once more, but the thought was abandoned when something in the mirror caught my attention.

I abruptly raised my head to stare at my reflection in front of me. From underneath my round collar, a chain of gold glinted daringly in the light. Nimbly, my fingers dug the chain out and it revealed a jade pendant with an exquisite carving of a woman, encased in a thin shell of gold. It was the same as the one in my...dream...

_Just kidding. _There was no dream of any over friendly Kuroro Lucifer exposing too much information about himself, just reality. So it turned out that even if I willed myself to pretend, it wouldn't even fool myself. _But that would've been a great escape._

I stared at the copy of myself off the mirror that hung all along my wall, bordered in a Gothic frame. My eyes travelled from the lone strand of hair at the side of my head down to the jewellery around my neck, my arms, my fingers, my waist and then back to the jade hanging on my neck. I scrutinized it through the mirror, absorbing and critiquing the design. Then it was all instinct that my digits would find their way on the piece of art, fiddling and fondling. Rubbing my thumb across its surface area, I marvelled at the elegance of the cameo. The face stretched upon the stone appeared to be the Goddess. The pendant was quite familiar. Actually, I might have seen its picture in a book some time ago. It was crafted by the blacksmith two generation back. It was a gift for his wife who worshipped the Goddess, but was lost before he could present it to her. A two generation old antique. How it got into the crooked merchant's hands was beyond me. Though it shouldn't be too surprising, since the man always seemed to land himself on rare valuables. It irritated me how I was never able to find the artifacts, because Kuroro had already claimed them. And this time was no different. Slipping my hand off the smooth surface of the jade, I returned my gaze back in front of me. Staring into my own pair of sapphire orbs, I cringed at the flagrant jealousy in their volumes and frowned with mild disgust. Such trivial things, I would not let it taint my heart, for jealousy was a deadly sin.

Unlatching the heavy chain from my neck, I gave it one last look and then shoved into my pocket to be forever parted with. That's right, I was going to give it back to Kuroro. Such a thing was only going to haunt me of the..._thing_ that happened. Besides, I did not want to be in possession of something that was not given to me rightfully. Although it really shouldn't be in Kuroro's hands either. Either way, I quickly brushed my teeth and dressed myself to head out.

Applying sunblock as protection against the dangerous waves the sun emitted, I trotted down the stairs of my house and grabbed the keys and left. I slipped the keys in the pockets of my jeans and hooked my thumbs onto the edge of both pockets. Looking around, I spotted the local officer coming out of his house, beginning his daily patrol around town. My feet dragged a little when my brain registered that it was still 7:30 A.M. Looking up to the sky, I acknowledged that it was indeed, still early. Even for summer, the sky had yet to turn completely blue. Most of the clouds were still grey and sleepy.

Instantly, my expression dropped and my hand went up to slap myself on the forehead. It was way to early to see Kuroro. If I were to go there now, it would just be awkward. Releasing a sigh, I shook my head and decided to go home.

"Oh! Kurapika! Good morning!" The officer, Satotsu, eagerly greeted me. I could hear the smile on his face. Originally, I wanted to avoid bumping into him, just to not waste time with all the friendly briefings, but now I felt slightly guilty. He was probably lonely, waking up so early to work and spending less than little time with what he actually wanted to do.

Working up a somewhat sincere smile, I turned around and greeted, "Morning, Satotsu-san."

He nodded and seemed dire to further the conversation. Raising a finger, he asked, "Where are you going so early, boy?"

I coughed. "I was, uh, going to return something, but then I realized how early it is. I was just about to go home." Awkward smile here.

Playing with his moustache, he squinted his eyes at me and laughed. Mockingly, he asked, "At the merchant's shop?"

"No—I mean yes." I corrected hastily. Why lie, I didn't need to lie. There was no good reason why I needed to hide anything. I nodded confidently and said again, "Yes."

Then as Satotsu was about to say something—which I guessed was farewell—the mayor intercepted him will an arrogant grin on his lips. He clunked his sandals over and chortled. He felt his beard and hunched over towards me, saying, "I think I can guess what's happening here."

My eye twitched and I spat, "No." I knew where this was going and I didn't want to have this conversation again_._

"It's trouble with Kuroro Lucifer again isn't it, Kurapika?" he stated ignorantly. Slapping myself again on the face, I sighed. "No—"

"Ahh, it's that time of the year already! I'm becoming old," he interrupted rudely for the second time this conversation. There were times when this old man, Netero, just annoyed me to point where I wanted to rip my hair out and stuff it in his mouth. He wiggled his brows at me and patted me on the shoulder all touchy-feely and chirped, "Sometimes, I wish I'm young and youthful again. _Sometimes._"

I gave him a glare and moved out of his reach. Abandoning them, I walked straight ahead, hoping this will be the last time I see them today, if not everyday. With a raised voice, Satotsu yelled, "Where are you going, Kurapika?"

"To Kuroro's!" I shouted without looking back, and I was certain I heard them smirk right then and there. Those wrinkled skin old men. Let us forget all the nice comments I made regarding Satotsu, because I'm taking them back.

But thanks to them, I had wasted some time and it was probably close to eight now. Eight was good, it's the time when I'm usually getting ready to open the library, but on Mondays the library is closed. Since it was Monday, it would be normal if I went to his shop at this time, it's when his store opens anyway. Though I didn't want to see him so early in the morning—or any time of the day actually—it would be stupid to turn back now. However awkward it may be, all I was going to do was return something. Why was I hesitating and cowering around? What was I to be afraid of anyway? This Kuroro is no more scarier than a garbage eating crow. I had lived with him in my life for enough years to be called a decade, whatever he had up his sleeves, I had battled it off. And I will find a way to put the event behind me, this was just another ordeal that came with the name Kuroro Lucifer. Bringing my chin up, I stared up into the grey clouds floating away to reveal ivory puffs and the sky behind it washing into a luminescent sky blue. Cupping my belly, I breathed in several gulps of fresh air and as always, the sensation of swallowing morning air is as refreshing as I remembered. In any situation, taking in fresh air always helped me feel better. Smiling a bit then, I hummed and wondered again, why I was so nervous.

Clutching the piece of jewellery in my pocket, I walked past the market, the clinic, the church and rounded down into the plaza and quickly made it to the beach. Lifting my feet through the sandy shore, I locked the merchant's shop in my sight. Taking the copper knob in my hand, I pushed the door open and heard the sound of a bell chiming above my head. A welcome was thrown habitually at me, dragging a bit at the last syllable as I curtly strode in front of the counter. Raven slicked back hair was slightly dishevelled and the body was clothed in black as per usual. Hard black eyes were narrowed somewhat with my unexpected visit. I stood in that spot in front of the counter for a moment, a moment too long to be comfortable. I cleared my throat, armed crossed in front of me. With expectant eyes, I waited for him to speak. But he didn't speak. He only returned to tending his merchandise. Irritable, really, this man was.

I slammed my hand down on the counter and felt the vibration under it. The sound was loud, for a much too quiet shop. You knew for sure, when a shop was this quiet, that it was not making business. "You have one failure of a business here, don't you?" I said in a brusque tone.

He brought his head back up to meet my gaze as he spewed in an indifferent voice, "So you have reverted back into the uncute you, huh?"

My face physically twitched as a whole and I caught myself steady before I almost threw myself over the counter and strangled him. It would be bad if he died in my hands from asphyxiation; my records would be forever tainted. If I must kill him, there were better, cleaner ways to do so. As for now, I will just let him off this time. Accompanied with a glare, I growled, "If you die one of these days, it sure as hell won't be related with me. And for your information, 'uncute' is not a word."

He looked at me with his trademark straight face and seriously considered my hint. He sighed—no, not a sigh. It was a light breath, close to a sigh, but not yet there. With a breath exhaled, he tapped his finger on the counter and said, "So are you here to buy or sell?"

In my pocket, I tightened my grip on the necklace and waited for a second before pulling it out in a quick motion. I dangled it in the proximate space between us. I presented a slight smirk on my lips and asked, "Then how much will I get for selling this?"

This definitely caught his attention. In a haste, he pushed himself around the counter and stood a feet away from me, eyeing me carefully. He tilted his chin up an angle and uttered, "Nothing. I don't expect to pay you anything for something that is mine." He continued to stare at me, with patient but oppressive determination. His eyes had no intention to leave mine until I gave him what he wanted.

I snorted, covered it up with a smirk, and then muttered, "Yeah, right." I back stepped and tossed the necklace before me, turning around after glimpsing that he caught it easily. Huffing in regret of all the troubles I went through just to return the piece of antique to the man I couldn't even stand knowing was around. I should have just waited for him to come get it back, if he really wanted it back that much. But then again, I wanted to get rid of it just as much. I mumbled, "It's not like I _want_ it."

Stepping towards the door, I took hold of the knob again, and said one more thing before leaving the god dammed place. "And...nobody needs to know about yesterday."

Quietly in the background, I heard his arrogant one of a kind snicker followed up with his mocking voice, "It's not like I _want_ to tell anyone, anyway. Plus, I don't particularly want to see you right now."

I wanted to say something, but with the shock that came, I wasn't able to properly speak without at least stuttering once. Desperately, I choked, "W-What, I don't—"

"Listen, you don't want another heart event to activate right? So, we should avoid each other. Period," he added obnoxiously. I gave him a weird glance and turned around and walked away. _It's not like I want to see you._

Slamming the door behind me, I greedily swallowed the remainder of the morning's cold, sharp air. The sun was setting in higher in the sky. It was soon to be noon. Walking slowly back up into the plaza, I pondered for a minute if I should go pay the Goddess a visit too. My theory was that she would know something about what happened. Then pacing around in the plaza in a daze, I snapped myself out of it and broke into a run for the mountains.

Cutting through Gon's farmland yet again, I rushed past the woods around the woodcutter's house and gave the hill in front of me a long hesitant look before running up the slope with a good few healthy pants. Crouching down, I picked a Pinkcat flower off the ground and walked over to the Goddess Pond with heavy steps. Stopping a feet away from the edge of the pond, I tossed the flower into the clear spring water and watched as the ripples distorted my reflection. In seconds, the magical appearance of the Goddess in a shroud of dust and sparkles arose above me. Her thick braid of aqua green hair fell over her shoulder and she smiled daintily down at me, lips parted so that they revealed her pearl white teeth. She spoke with laughter, "Hello, Kurapika. Thank you for the offering, I love it. Even though it's sad how you don't come here often."

I looked at her curiously, smiling in courtesy. She actually looked quite young, despite the centuries she lived. Her ever green hair was void of grey strands and her porcelain white skin free of ageing marks. Gazing down upon me with her emerald eyes, she cocked her head to the side and waited for my response. Shamelessly, I admitted, "To be honest, I don't come here at all."

Her head shifted back in its straight position, dipped down forward and her hands covered her pink stained lips. Filling the spring clearing with the sound of her amused laughter, I watched as she interestingly straightened herself back up and giggled, "We've got to change that, now don't we!"

Smiling a little, I shrugged and said, "I have a feeling you'll be seeing me a lot these days coming."

The laughter stopped and suddenly, there was this tension in the atmosphere. She studied me with her glowing lush orbs and grazed my jawline with the back of her long lanky fingers, smiling. Holding eye contact with her was much like allowing her entrance to the depths of my mind. I felt so exposed under her studious gaze, it made me self-conscious for the first time that I remember. I was completely an open book to her. So this was the so called Harvest Goddess that secured harvest for this town. I had underestimated this woman.

"Are you trying to tell me something, dear?" she asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone. I told her what I wanted from her without beating around the bush. "Yes, I am. I'm sure you know about everything that happens around here, so would you please tell me what exactly happened yesterday?"

I frowned in a way that only I could comprehend its meaning, but for the Goddess, she could probably decode all that is encoded. So be it. Let her read my thoughts and make the talking easier. There was nothing hidden to her eyes anyway, nothing to lose. And faced with my expression, her smile perished from her features and a thoughtful look emerged. Her lids fluttered closed and her hands were clasped in front of her to produce a much more serious image. Biting the bottom of her lip gently, she opened her eyes and looked up to the sky with practised elegance and contemplated my question. Returning her focus back onto me, she said, "There's a reason why everything happens. And whatever happens next is depending on your fate."

My mouth dropped in surprise at the cheesy excuse she uttered so confidently. I was sure it had been her fault that the event occurred, it was a careless mistake on her part. A thing like this did not happen on its own from out of the blue. It was nonsensical to even consider Kuroro and I to develop any relationship other than enemies. There was no use denying that even before I started feeling for Neon in that way that I already hated Kuroro. The moment he stepped off the ship and onto the deck dressed in his black t-shirt and leather pants, I knew I wouldn't get along with him. I was only seven back then, but any man who would put himself in an entirely black outfit in the heat of summer could not be normal. Not to mention the black cross on his forehead and his pair of soulless black eyes. Everything about him gave off a foreboding feeling, especially the stoic expression he almost always wore. He was fourteen, only seven years older than me, but twice my age at that time. After some time, he offered little smiles here and there to greet his customers and to assemble a positive ambience in his store. Though what frustrated me to no ends was the way he gave me those mocking belittling looks—and to me only. By then, I was ten and I knew he was looking down on me. I who was abandoned by my parents and left to taken in by my grandmother for ten years, until she finally passed away and left me to mind for myself. I was certain I despised the man since then.

So there was no way this was played by fate. "It was you, wasn't it? Who else could attempt to force a heart event like that?"

She looked solemn for a moment, pondering if she should tell me whatever she knew. "I can but merely grant wishes I am able to grant. I cannot force heart events. They happen only by the will of fate."

"But that's not—"

"Come again next time with a flower and I'd be more than glad to give you a lecture about that. Farewell for now!" She laughed and disappeared behind her cloak of dust and sparkles.

For the next two minutes, I stood there staring blankly at the surface of the pond, speechless. She had left just like that... And for the fourth time today I got cut off midway into a sentence. Also, because of her sudden escape, I started to wonder if the Goddess was just trying to cover up her accident.

Bringing a hand up to massage my temple, I sighed. So much trouble in one morning, I just wanted to run home and enjoy the afternoon behind books and a cup of tea. Breaking from my trance, I turned around and slowly wandered back down the hill, kicking at the grass absentmindedly. Turning around the base of the cliff, I ran into something hard and I could hear the crack from my nose. The pain came quick after that, burning and stinging at my delicate feature. I was surprised blood wasn't dripping from my nose already. Whoever I ran into is one solid person. While my hands were busy soothing the bridge of my nose, my eyes flew up to determine who was hard enough to hurt my nose this much. With water lining my eyes, I watched as the person before me shook his head and sighed. I glared at him for the rudeness of running into someone and not apologizing but shaking his head and sighing instead. I scowled and was about to yell at the stone hard man, but I stopped shortly when I realized _who_ he was. This time I sighed.

"Why is it always you?" I groaned in despair. _So much for avoiding each other._

"I should be the one asking you."


	4. Four: Roundabout Logic

**A/N:** So um...So far so good? Haha. It's been two months I think? Sorry, guys. Got banned for a while. And although I wanted to make this chapter longer...the scene just kinda cut there so I can't really do much about it. Expect the next chapter in at least a month's time. Got much to catch up on. And thank you all who read and supported this fic up until now. Thank you for reviewing as well. Please continue to leave comments! I greatly enjoy and appreciate them~ ;DD

Now Kuroro, show us what you think of this situation.

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Roundabout Logic<strong>

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><p>The breeze was mild, but hot when it came in contact with my exposed skin, sweaty and uncomfortable. The air was hot and oppressive, dropping low in the town and making people naturally sluggish and cranky. With the heat wave came the massive horde of cicadas singing their own slightly unique song. And although it was hot, there was also an element in the air that was fresh feeling. It was good. Summer was the only season in the year that I lived with.<p>

Yes. Walking through the woods in outskirts of town was a pleasant thing. Just like the casual strolls I routinely took on previous summer nights. The only difference was today was on a morning. That was fine. Pushing the strands of my hair back, I continued forward. With my eyes landing on the slope that led to Goddess Pond, it was obvious my destination would be there. And that was the reason to my early walk.

When I got to the foot of the hill, colliding into someone was the least of what I had expected. But running into _this _boy...I was uncertain if it would be the-least-of-what-I-had-expected or I-totally-saw-that-coming, because I should. I definitely should. Whether we had the wickedest of coincidence or the ill most of fate, it was beginning to make me think. Whatever it was that we had going on, it was clicking us together. And this was not just my hunch talking. Because it was painfully obvious this will greatly impact the life between us. Not that we ever had that great of a relationship to being with, but even so.

He pulled himself away from me and furiously rubbed at his nose bridge groaning after the nosedive he did. Watching as his eyes water and the bridge of his nose begin to bruise, I sighed. Fingers massaging at my temples, a deja vu flashed in my head of a time when something like this happened long ago. It was years ago, when I was still somewhat new to this town and when he was still neutral about my existence—well at most he bothered to contain his contempt against me and not publicly display it. We had run into each other like this, at the bottom of the Goddess Pond hill. He had hurt his nose like just like today and I had only just stood by and watched as he writhed in pain. I didn't apologize for it, not that it was solely my fault, but because I never apologized for anything. That incident might have been the catalyst that made him into the person who proclaimed he was my enemy now.

Shaking my head in the flow of action, my eyes caught themselves and my mouth folded into a tight-lipped frown. This was just an hour or two after I had laid out my plan, but it was already lost with a turn of a corner. This had to be the quickest that any of my plans had failed. Though failing was a term that didn't often came along with my name, I acknowledged the failure this time and proceeded with a different attempt. One that I had not yet devised.

There was a soft whimper from him and then as the haze left his eyes and reality checked back with him, his eyes darted forth and sent me its usual cold bite. He questioned my presence with the enthusiasm he always bore with the subject. "Why is it always you?"

"I should be the one asking you," I said softly, lacking in energy. I took a few steps forward and I angled myself so that I was straight on the path up the hill, but I hesitated the moment I moved forward. An inkling grew inside me and there was just one possibility that I wanted to remove my doubt of. I hesitantly asked, "You're not playing with cursed tools are you?"

He gave me a queer look and a frown, a reaction reassuring me that possibility can be eliminated. His lips sputtered out the words derisively, "No, Kuroro. I haven't."

"Good," I said, turning up the hill slowly and surely I heard a hiss from behind me. No, not a snake or cat, just a boy. A really wild one that tended to hold grudges. As the trees around me thickened, I was obscured from his point of view as was he from mine and I remained focused on the path ahead. There is only one thing I did up in this place and that was to mine in the cave beside the Goddess Spring. But this time, I was not going to be looking for hidden treasures. I was here to obtain..."advice", in other words. Supposedly the Goddess that lived in this spring knew almost every detail about this town and she had magical powers that amazed all of the villager. What her powers actually were worth, I haven't witnessed yet, since she refused to tell when I had asked her once. She would only allow those who were "devoted" to her privilege.

Anyway, she would be the best person to seek information from, if anyone. And I stood expectantly at the edge of the pond with a flower handy already, I dropped it into the pond and waited for the appearance of the Goddess. Not even a few seconds after, the mirage of the mystic and majestic figure puzzled together with a wisp of wind. Over the surface of the pond her image was not reflected, rather it was more like her presence was but an illusion created by the spring water to serve the people without her physically showing up. That I understood, if she really was that important. Without legs or feet, the woman covered in sparkles and glitter held between her index finger and thumb the pale yellow flower I offered her. And as the breeze carried her long braided teal hair and silk shawl aside, the voices of cicadas returned singing again with their notes more gentle as though to honour the Queen of the forest. Said Queen spread her lips into a soft smile and gazed at me endearingly—ambiguously, might I add. Then, with a breath from her blessed lips, the flower disappeared from her thin fingers into a swirl of wind and a dance of petals.

She spoke, with serenity so clear in her lulling voice, "And that will go to my garden of flowers, dear Kuroro. I thank you for it."

There was the same awe I felt as of the first time I met her, it was to be expected with a character so majestic as the name would suggest. That's right, this was the Harvest _Goddess_. Behind the bright and captivating greens of her orbs, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't read her thoughts. Yet she, this goddess, made me feel like she could flip through my thoughts and emotion like the pages of a child's picture book—everything so clearly displayed in images of what my mind and heart was. She was the sole being that ever made me feel intimidated. For that I, both admired her and felt the need to be wary of her.

She was different, that was for sure.

"No need to thank me, as I came here with questions." I paused, allowing her passage right into the windows of my soul. "You will give me answers, right?"

She cocked her head and laughed with a timid voice, always watchful. Holding onto a serene look, she permitted her eyes to close and she nodded slowly, knowingly. "Oh, why have I already an idea of what you should want, Kuroro Lucifer."

The corners of my lips tugged into a natural smirk and I hummed, "Hmm. That is good news to hear." The first piece of favourable news to hear this week.

"However, what I say in response might not be worth much to you. Seeing as our little blond didn't like much of what I said before." She tapped her finger against her chin and giggled.

By that, I assumed she meant Kurapika. That made sense, after all, he had been here before me and it seemed to be proved we had the same line of thinking. But I'm not so sure what she meant by "our" little blond. I didn't like the possessive ring to that. Dryly, I cleared my throat. Looking into her eyes, I inquired, "I will judge its worth after I have heard what you have to say."

Her gaze lightened and she pulled her arms into a crossed position. "Well then, I will say what I must. I understand what you have experienced yesterday was something...unusual and possibly 'wrong' in your way of thinking. Both you and little Kuruta. But alas, I must correct you two." She stopped, pondering, analyzing. Swinging her finger round and round in the air she came to a halt as something brightened in her eyes. She brought her hands forward and wrapped them around my face, much to my discomfort, and grinned. She began her lecture, "You children are much too narrow-minded. Although there is not much I can tell you to begin with, I can tell you this: fate cannot be changed. And your fate has already been decided. You and him—there is something more than just rivals. It was not mere coincidence, what happened in the beach. And I—I am not allowed to alter the roads of destiny, if that is what you wished to know. I may see all, but I have not the power or right to change the flow of nature. Though I am capable to bless those I favour wishes. And that is all."

I was, to an extent, speechless after the monologue she gave. I never really gave much of a thought to fate and all of its drama, but hearing this made me...well, speechless. What was I to expect of the future when she made my life story sound so cheesy and cliche. Albeit twisted in a way. Us being both of the male species. Then again, the meaning to her words are quite ambiguous. Things aren't always as it appears, this must also apply to what she said. "Something more than rivals" could mean many things. For example, being worst than rivals—arch nemesis. Or maybe being friends or partners. I didn't actually know what at this point, but eventually, the pieces will puzzle together if this fate thing actually worked out. When I looked at the whole picture, the consequences didn't seem so much negative than I originally thought. See, I didn't particularly care for a love life or anything. I didn't like the idea of being too attached to one place. Also, if things worked out, then great, one less person off my back. If by then I still feel indifferent, then the answer is simple. If by then I have changed then that answers to my questions now. It wasn't like I absolutely loathed the boy. Hating was much too troublesome. Anyway, this whole predicament was quite troublesome to deal with now.

Surely, the less I think about this matter, the less it would bother me. The brain was one mysterious superpower machine, after all.

"If you say so. I don't really want to bother with this right now, seems much too complicated to tangle with. If things are really as you say, why not let the knots untangle themselves? Don't you think so, too?" I shrugged it off casually. With a sneer, I looked up at her lightheartedly.

She returned my sneer with a smile upon her pale face. "Yes. I do think so. Now if only you would convince Kuruta to think alike."

_Convince?_ I laughed at that. "That's a task I'd rather not take up."

"I see," she said with a pout. "Then I suppose I shall have to expect more flowers from him."

That I did not care and I assumed this was the end of conversation. With a sigh I picked up my feet and turned myself slightly before muttering a breathy, "Goodbye." Stalking back towards the beginning of the slope and the mass of forestry, I began my hike back down. But of course, I did not miss the humorous comment the Goddess made to herself even though she had meant for it to be heard by only herself. She had said with much—too much for my liking—amusement, "These ones will be fun to raise."

I hardly understood what she had said, but with the oddest timing once again, the cicadas arose again with their humming of harmonized laughter as if to mock me too.

As I marched midway down the slope, I stopped abruptly and laughed. A genuine laugh that produced a sound foreign to my vocal cords not by the force of obligation, but by human emotion. This was all starting to become amusing. _Fun, huh? _

I chuckled, "I see, nature got together to pull quite a prank." Now _this _was funny. Unintentionally, this made me change my mind. I guess a visit to the library was in order in the end.

"I'll have to show them what my name is built on."

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><p>This seems short on the eyes but there is at least 2.3k words! Microsoft words swears on that! Haha. Cookies for reviewing and have a nice day! (I lied, I'll give cookies for everyone. DD;)<p> 


	5. Five: For My Entertainment

**A/N:** Sorry that took a while! I've been busy and lazy. Though I promise this is the turning point of for the story. We're getting to the rising action. Though it still has a couple chapter to come, the future will be filled with angst and denial. Anyway, that's not important at the moment. This is the chapter when...things finally get completely introduced. ENTER NEON!

Read and review please and thank you~! ^_^

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: For My Entertainment<strong>

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><p>"Hunter x Hunter..." <em>Fiction<em>. That went on the second shelf from the left. I pushed the book into its organized place and proceeded with the rest of the books on my trolley. This time, a biography. "Mary Goodridge," was a librarian before my grandmother. She seemed to enjoy keeping a regular diary. Her life was quiet and rather lonely, which was not particularly a bad one. Speaking of which, she was the woman the blacksmith was in love with—the one that had he dedicated a cameo to. Pushing that book into its home on the first shelf, I glanced over at the next book with the words "The Energy of Life" printed on it's hard cover. That was the book that Killua excitedly claimed last week with a curious Gon nodding in agreement. And this one went on the third shelf along with the other many martial arts and meditation centred books.

I headed over to the trolley to pick up a few other books belonging to this section when from don below me, a booming voice demanded from me attention. "KURAPIKA! Get down here, you got a CUSTOMER!"

Leorio, I mentally cursed for the many little things he did that made my daily life feel so much more hectic than it should. Sighing, I laid the books down on a table and headed down the stairs before he attempted to yell a second time.

Creaking down the old wooden stairs with a hand grazing along the worn wooden railing, I craned my neck around the corner to notice Leorio standing beside a man seated across the window up front. As if on cue, the moment my feet touched the last step, Leorio whipped around and hauled me over, hand grabbing me by the upper arm. Pulling me forward with a tight grip, he ushered me to where he stood before. Allowing myself one hiss at him, I jerked my arm out of his grip and asked what the urgency was all about.

"Why are you being so pushy?" I whispered with a cocked brow.

He did not bother with verbal communication, instead he pointed his thumb towards the person sitting at the end of the desk. Unaware, I walked closer towards the man and as I was about to reach out and greet him, he stood up and turned around, catching me off balance. To prevent myself from getting run into, I back up a couple of feet and accidentally stepped on Leorio's foot behind me. With his hands shoving against my back, trying to get me off his foot, I have my own hands up in front of me in a protective manner. With Leorio successfully shoving me off his bruised feet, I tumbled to the side but my eyes were locked in front of me. If I could, I would have loved to be able to see the expression on my face right now. I was feeling like so many different things, my facial muscles cramped up trying to express them all at once. The inability to properly display my expressions happened quite often in the past few days. Why that was did not take me long to solve.

Rigidly erecting myself from the awkward hunched position I was in, I tried not to show any of the confusion that was revolving around my head as I pondered _why_ this person was here. He had never once step foot in the library since the day he came to this town, and I was confident with this memory.

An ominous dark feeling stirred in the pits of my stomach and my intuition told me that this sudden change was something to take note of. Something was going on. And it was not a good thing.

He waved amiably and smiled, or tried to disguise his arrogant smirk by making it wider and looking _like_ a smile. But it's not the same—a smile and a smirk. A debate underwent in my head, arguing whether I should just play the friendly facade or drop the act and treat him as I always did. And then I figured it would be best if I just played my job's role and treat him as a customer.

I cleared my throat, a fist against my mouth and eyes wandering past him. "Welcome. Take your time to browse the shelves. Ring the bell when you need me, I'll be upstairs. Good luck finding what you need."

I stepped past the dumb shocked friend standing behind me and gave him a slight sigh before trotting over to the stairs again.

I put my hand on the railing and at the same time a voice raised from behind. "Hey. Stop acting so distant, Kurapika. It's not like we're strangers."

I didn't need to look back to know the expression pulling across his pale face, eyes a daunting ebony glazed with an enigmatic aura accompanied by a relaxed line upon his lips. He was not the type to bother with small talk, if at first not successful. Not unless he had an ulterior motive. And this was as good as a confirmation for what I suspected earlier.

I pulled my hand back and spared the man another glance, a frown emerging. "Well, then. I hope you find what you want quick, and _leave_, _Lucifer_."

With that last statement, I continued where I had left off, up the stairs. It was half way to the top when I felt his hand around my elbow and a pull in order. Inevitably, I turned in his direction and was greeted with his infamous smirk. Another hand came up to my forehead and made itself home there, running wild along my bangs. It was then when I was busy prying his hand off me with eyes wide with dismay, that he swooped down and whispered deviously in my ear, "Let's play this game, why don't we, _Kuruta_."

Tentatively, he pushed my head back and as I tried to balance myself on the railing, my face was without a doubt flushed after explicating what his words just meant. The words "play" and "game" replayed in the back of my head so loud they were ringing in my ears. And the innuendo that resounded in the way he called my name also did not escape my ears. I knew that was his payback for how I called him earlier.

In the flurry of the moment, the door slammed and a new voice cheered from the ground floor as my head was still reeling. "OH! Look, Kuroro is here too! Hi!"

He paced back downstairs with a flash of a satisfied grin before bringing out his poker face again. My eyes trailed after him with sheer awe, watching him greet the owner of the voice. I was still in a bit of a daze, what with the delayed reaction, but the words that were uttered next hauled me completely back.

"Hello there, Neon. It's been a while since I've seen you." _Neon_ was here? I quickly headed down the flight of stairs and saw with my own eyes. The one thing that went through my mind that instant was _why is she__ here. _Though I made it appear as if I was fond of her, in all honesty, it's just a charade I found myself wound up in. At first when I heard of Neon's attraction towards Kuroro, it was only with curiosity that I befriended her to figure out what was so great about him. Although soon, the pretense outlasted itself and I was caught up in this mess I made myself into. Neon later thought _I_—who she thought was interested in her—thought _she_ was into me. Then there was this whole phase of her also thinking Kuroro was also smitten with her, while this time it was mutual—or at least she liked to think so—and I'm the vector that made the triangle that needed to be dealt with so they can live happily ever and after. Yet again, there was another problem in this drama—she was uncertain whether or not she should lose me because it was always nice to have insurance if something went wrong with Kuroro. How I know this from such an omniscient perspective? One, she was as open as a book. Two, her brother is my friend, albeit he was more trouble than he was worth. And lastly, she was a self-centred person, so her way of thinking always revolved around her.

It became troublesome trying to get out of the triangle carefully and harmlessly_._ At one point I considered telling her upright about the whole pretense but Leorio thought it unwise. He said she would throw a fit about me using her the whole time and will hold an everlasting grudge. While her brother was my friend, having his sister constantly at my neck would not be comfortable. Alas, this was how I ended with living up this charade. But the part of me that hated to lose against Kuroro also dug me deeper into my grave.

She turned towards me and flashed a playful smile. "Hi Kurapika! How you doing?"

"Fine, you?" I never liked it when people responded with fine, good, well, etc. to that question, because ninety percent of the time, they weren't doing fine. And yet here I was, saying exactly that. Not to mention, I'm also that ninety percentage.

"Great! I mean it's summer and Kuroro is here! Can it get any better?" she looked up to Kuroro gleefully wrapping her arms around his. He only responded with his content poker face.

"Mhm. Kuroro's presence is truly comforting, I agree." I hummed sarcastically, eyes narrowing down on a pair of ebony orbs.

Kuroro smiled at the irony and commented, "Why, thank you. I'm sure you'll also be missing me by the time I come around to leave, too."

I heard the hint there, and it seemed he was serious when he said he wanted to play this game.

"That will definitely happen, won't it?" I curled my fingers around the stone dangling from my ear, coating my words with a thick layer of sarcasm.

He held his stoic gaze with mine and played his fake smile while I wore only a blank expression. Neon feeling a bit lost was darting her head back and forth between Kuroro and I. She placed a finger on her lip and asked, "Oh, dear. Could it be you're jealous, Kurapika?"

My brows furrowed at the sudden assumption. Always trust Neon to make a misunderstanding out of absolutely nothing possible.

"N-No..." I was at a lost for words when Leorio, who felt like he was long forgotten, cleared his throat generously loud.

Neon whipped her head over and gasped. "When did you get there, brother?"

"SINCE THE BEGINNING!" Leorio shouted with a clenched fist shaking in front of his gritted teeth. He pushed his glasses up on his nose bridge and started chewing Neon out on what better things she should be doing right now.

"He's right, Neon. Shouldn't you be having lessons right now?" Kuroro interjected, siding with Leorio whom is sporting a long face as his glasses slid down once again. Coughing, Leorio said, "Of course I'm right."

Hearing the words out of her so called admirer's mouth, Neon gave a pout but nodded and headed for back for her lessons. Leorio muttered something after her, but it wasn't clear what he said. Having walked out the door already, Leorio suddenly burst back in to say one more unnecessary comment.

"Oh yeah! I don't know what his intentions are, but don't let him deceive you!" He pointed a firm finger at me and glanced disappointingly at Kuroro who was still here.

I waved a hand, dismissing him. "I know that without you even telling me."

The man on subject himself cocked a brow and sighed. Eyeing both of us calmly, he said, "You guys aren't really friendly are you?"

Leorio slammed his fist against the door and yelled, "Heck no! And stay away from my sister!" This time he left for good. Of course, not before abusing my door first.

After Leorio had left, a silence fell over us. I felt his gaze on the side of my head and I tried to avert my attention elsewhere, but when the staring lasted for a while longer, I realized he was expecting a response from me.

"W-What...?" I asked warily.

He stared straight into my eyes, making me regret looking at him. His gaze pierced through me and latched on, searching my soul just like the time on the beach. He said, "Your friend told me what he thinks of me, so how about you?"

I squinted my eyes, lips pulled back, deciding whether to pull up or down. I snorted at the pointless question. He knew full well what I thought, since I never failed to tell him how much I disliked him. Strongly disliked. "I don't like you."

My brusque reply seemed to be what he had been expecting. A smile eased onto his features as he crossed his arms. "That's good. Otherwise it won't fun."

"Fun?" I repeated with a confused look overtaking me.

"Of course. What fun will it be if you're like Neon? Indeed, it will be much more interesting if didn't like me in the beginning," he said with a serious expression and arms crossed.

I stepped back cautiously."You surely don't mean—"

"I do. Playing with fate, there's a certain thrill in that you don't experience everyday."

Seeing his serious expression scared me a little. I looked away and slapped myself. "Goddess, please, stop this man."

He smiled innocently—if that was even possible—and claimed," Too bad for you, but the Goddess is on my side."

~x~

Swerving around a wooden bookshelf, trailing my index finger along a row of organized literature books, I slid the last book into the hollow of the shelf and heaved a sigh of relief as the sorting was done for the day. I walked up to the window just to the right and leaned out of it, breathing in a breath of fresh air and relaxing for a moment. My lids fluttered closed and rested as the warm breeze licked across my sensitive skin and weaved through my silky locks. I lay my head on my arms, overlapped on the windowsill, and allowed my train of thoughts to drift to the sounds outside, the buzzing, chirping and incomprehensible voices mashed together to form a great song of a typical summer's day.

Another draft of wind blew past me, teasing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on its end. And then there was the feeling of a burning glare on the back of my head and I was reminded of an important fact.

I whipped my head around and scanned the room for the location of the other presence. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw the outline of a figure laying back into one of the sofas. With a slight frown, I clicked my tongue and muttered, "Why are you still here?"

"I'm just observing you're work," he answered like it was the most natural thing. Didn't he have work to do or errands to carry out or anything else to do? I would ensure you that my work was nothing appealing.

"Have you really nothing better to do?" I waved my hand in the air, trying to emphasize my point of nothing.

He chuckled softly. With a finger on the corner of his eye and his elbow propped on the armrest of the sofa, he grinned slyly and mumbled, "I do, but I don't feel like doing it."

Hearing him say that ticked me off for some reason. A vein popped on my forehead and I marched over to him in long strides, hands trembling. I stood a foot in front of him and stared down at him from a higher position. I glared and gritted my teeth.

"You are getting really annoying," I said with a shaking voice.

He looked up at me and smiled carelessly with eyes gravitating mine. I tried hard not to get pulled into them while managing a firm expression. He shrugged and held up the book on his lap, "It's not like I was loitering around. You see, I actually found the book I wanted."

I eyed the book and then at him finally. "That's great. You finally found the book after three hours. I'll check it out for you so you may, at last, _leave_."

"That's right," he agreed. Getting off his seat, he led the way downstairs to the counter in front of the door. I trotted down behind him, unamused gaze locked onto the back of his head, cursing the man with my eyes.

He placed the hardcover book on the counter and waited for me to slip inside and check it out. I manoeuvred behind the counter and took the book and filled out its information and stamped its due date onto my page. Handing the book back to him, I stated, "The due date is two weeks from now. Goodbye."

He took the book in hand and walked towards the door. Pushing the door open, he turned back to wave the book at me before leaving. "Next time, I'll meet you in a more interesting place."

"You—" he escaped behind the closed door before I had the chance to complete my sentence. Biting my lower lip, I threw my hand against the wall and swore under my breath. I laced my hands among my shoulder length hair and ruffled the blond strands in pent up frustration.

_A Guide To Taming Wild Animals._ I dropped on my knees mumbling a series of frustrated sounds and uncouth shouting, remembering how he waved the book at me before he left. He was purposely teasing me with that book. The things he did just to push my buttons!

_I'm not some wild cat, you bastard with pitch black-holes for eyes!_


	6. Six: Doubt It!

**A/N: **FIRST, let me apologize. I'm sincerely sorry for taking so long to update. I had been on vacation and school was also lagging me. Moreover, muse was giving me trouble. But yes, in the end KuroKura prevails. I had a hard time naming this chapter, HAH! I was thinking of naming it Awkward Animals at first, but no, that was weird. So this was how it turned out! Of Kuroro, Neon, Kurapika and Leorio! What doubt is there to it? Read and review please and thank you! ;D

EDIT: August 1 2013.

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Doubt It!<strong>

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><p>The sun was bright again, standing high in the clouds. The sky was a cool azure blue, complementing the orange-yellow hue of the flaring sun.<p>

I looked out the window and noted the temperature getting warmer by the day. I sighed. The open windows did not make much of a difference to the stuffy air. I should consider purchasing an air condition, or even start selling them.

Having gotten used to the temperature again, I began to reading the book I borrowed yesterday. _First, I must pick a category to refer to_. And heck, this book had the range from stray dogs to the most vicious of snakes and a loop all the way back to wild turkeys. I looked down the page of contents, of all the animals listed, it was hard to pick.

Dogs, no, not that. Dogs were cute and friendly. The boy was more hostile and guarded, eyes trained to see beyond your skin. He was the witty and wise character, often represented by the media as a cat. Yes, he had the characteristics of a cat exactly.

Looking down the page of contents, I noted the page number dedicated for wild cats. Flipping through a quarter of the book, I leaned back comfortably in my chair and read the articles explaining the nature of wild cats and advice and steps to befriend a wild cat. It said cats were in general afraid of anything larger than itself and programmed to attack if crept up from behind. But of course, in the end it is not impossible to tame them. It even said that it does not take long to tame them, if you treat them correctly and show them you will not harm them and you can be trusted. And then it goes on in detail about what exactly to do to get on a cat's good side. But to summarize the whole four pages I read, one: I must show the cat I can be trusted. So I must not scare it. Two: I must be nice to the cat and show him that good things happen when I'm around. Three: I must keep a steady pace. I would make the cat nervous if I came on too fast.

Trust, goodness and pace, the three key points to befriending the Kuruta. It sounded like something worth a try at. I had a good feeling this was the way to start anyway. I closed the book and laid it down on the counter.

The strands of black that fell on my forehead stuck onto the stubborn layer of sweat that coated my skin. I slicked the stray strands back with my palm and stood up from the chair, a slowly advancing drowsiness gnawing at my consciousness. I sighed and felt the weight of my lids harder to keep open. But a sudden sharp chime of bells temporarily flushed away the sleep in my eyes and brought me to my attention of a customer.

I looked down at the boy walking through the door with a basket in his hands. Straightening myself, I put on a smile and greeted the dark haired boy. "Welcome, Gon."

The spirited boy flashed a toothy smile and nodded, running up to the counter. "Hello! I was shopping for groceries earlier and I thought I'd also give you a visit." He lifted up his basket and showed me the proof of his shopping trip.

"On such a hot day? Well, is there anything you looking for specifically?" I asked with a casual nod. I knew the drowsiness had left for now, but I didn't know how much longer I could last before it came back.

Gon scratched his head and peered through the showcase up front. I followed softly behind him.

His honest eyes darted across the many items of summer equipment on display. Of hats, glasses, parasols and fishing rods on display, the fishing rods caught his attention. I turned to face him with a smile. "Are the rods perhaps of your interest?"

He turned around to face me and nodded eagerly. He held his arms up and pulled them to his sides to emphasize on the rod he was to describe. "I want to buy one for Killua, since he's pretty new to fishing. Do you have a simple one for a beginner?"

"Ahh," I hummed, turning on my heels and went back into the storage room behind the counter. I took down the shorter blue rod from the shelf and brought it back out to show Gon. I held the rod out with both hands and watched as his eyes shone with excitement at the sight of a new rod. "This is the only one I have right now that isn't one of the newer models. I think this will be pretty good for Killua, don't you think?"

He felt the rod with his hands and held it up to examine, giving it a few swings. His satisfaction spread across his lips and he shouted, "Yeah! This one is perfect for him! I think he'll like the colour too." He handed the rod back to me and beamed. "Okay, I'll get this one!"

"Alright, I'll pack this up for you." I went around the counter and pulled out a long box. I gently put the rod into the box lined with bubble wrap for protection. Sealing the lid on top, I slid it across the counter toward Gon.

Gon switched his basket over to his left hand to pick up the long box with his stronger hand. He glanced over to the book I left on the counter and studied it curiously. His innocent eyes always taking in everything it sees without fail. Flicking his gaze back to me, he wondered, "Are you planning on raising a pet?"

"Well, close. Though you're not wrong either." I maneuvered around the counter and jogged toward the door, holding it open for the occupied boy.

He beamed with excitement at the acknowledgement. "If you ever do, may I see it? I really like animals!"

Smiling, I said, "Someday, I'll show you. And thank you for the purchase. I hope your friend likes the gift."

"Yeah! See you next time," he mumbled. He wheeled around and made his exit through the beach and I turned to make my way back to the shop.

I quickly ducked back into the door to escape the rays of the sun. The simple black framed clock that hung above an oil painting of a summer villa read one o'clock. I went behind the counter and pulled out my bag. I looked inside the black leather waist bag for my wallet. Picking it out from under a plastic bag of documents, I zipped the bag and placed it in one of the drawers.

I slid my wallet into one of my pockets and travelled out the door again, locking it this time. I flipped the open sign over and marked the little clock to two o'clock, with the words "will be back at..." printed on top of it. It was my lunch break right now.

Trudging along the wet sand, I turned into the neatly tiled plaza that was always buzzing with gossiping housewives. With a nod to the curious eyes that fell upon me, I continued onward to the street ahead. Green bushes were sprouting buds and blossoms this time of the year and the daffodils were already lining the walls of houses and shops. Turning into a street again, the local restaurant was already in sight. Through the glass window I could see that the lunch hour had packed the restaurant nearly full. I pushed the door open and the bell chimed as I walked over the threshold. Immediately, a waitress in a black apron and a white dress shirt waltzed over to welcome me.

"Welcome. A table for how many?" she asked with a smile while wiping her hands on her apron.

"One only," I told her. She nodded and quickly ushered me toward a table near a window. I took my seat facing the wall and took the menus from the waitress as she left to greet another customer. I placed the menu aside without giving it a look. I always ordered the usual anyway. When another waitress noticed I was waiting, she hurried over and asked if I was ready to order. I told her my order of a Chicken Caesar Salad and the House Special Burger. Plus an iced coffee since it was really warm today.

And with that, I was left alone again. I stared out the window and watched the passing people, the faces were all familiar. After all, this was a pretty small town. And small towns tended to have close villagers. Not long after, my drink came, followed closely with the salad and burger. Of course, I gulped down a good quarter of the iced coffee to cool down first. The feeling of the ice cold oily liquid washing down my throat was ever so refreshing. I looked down at the burger and decide to eat that first. I picked the burger up with both hands and took a bite out of it, before I heard footsteps coming up from behind me. I contemplated looking back, but I already had a feeling I knew who this was. As the click of heels came closer and louder, I took another bite and waited for an obnoxious cry of a voice.

Then it came crashing. "It's _IS_ Kuroro! I knew it was you from all the way back there!" she shouted loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear, but it seems nobody cared anymore. Everyone must have gotten used to the sound of her voice by now. If you hadn't gotten used to it by now, you would have shorten your lifespan by ten years frustrating over it.

I continued chewing the food in my mouth, but offered a smile and a polite wave toward the hyperactive girl. She squealed and jumped and then turned over to the figure standing behind her. "Okay, Leorio! You can go get a table for yourself, I'm staying with Kuroro! Shoo!" she waved him off.

Her short-tempered brother made a fist and looked over to me with hostile eyes. He whipped his head back toward Neon and pushed his glasses up his nose. Pointing a finger, he lectured, "I told you to call me brother! And this is how you repay me for helping you sneak out while the old man's gone?"

Neon pouted and whined, "But Kuroro is so much more interesting than you, _brother_. C'mon, please? I'll make dinner tonight!"

The pumped up man groaned, saying, "What you make is not edible ninety percent of the time anyway." He turned to look at me once more, and I smiled, waving back. He made a face and glanced over to Neon who was still standing by me. Waving her off, he dismissed her in a way, giving his permission. He walked down a couple of tables and sat by himself in a corner.

She jumped, victorious, and sat in the seat across me. She laughed and watched me eat with fervent eyes, as if it was the most fascinating thing.

I swallowed and quietly asked, "Aren't you going to order too?"

She shook her head, keeping her grin on her lips, her teal eyes watching my every move. I finished the last of my burger before questioning why she was even here.

After another sip of the iced coffee, feeling it drain down my throat again, I asked her, "Then why are you here?"

She straightened herself and her smile spread wider as the attention is now on herself. "Because Leorio got hungry after a little of scavenger hunting in the hills and forced me to come here with him! Even though I'm on a diet, you see." She poked at her sides and mumbled, "I think I've gotten fatter."

I nodded. I had already guessed as much, but it was only to keep the conversation going. I picked up my fork, and instantly, the attention fell back on me. I eyed my drink and then my fork. It would be slightly awkward having her stare at me during my whole meal, but the girl insisted on not eating. So I raised my hand and called over a waitress.

She came quickly to my service and asked, "Is there something you need?"

"A glass of water for the lady here," I jerked my head toward Neon.

The waitress nodded and rushed over to the kitchen and came jogging back with a glass of water, ice swishing around at the top. She placed the glass down in front of Neon and then turned to another calling customer.

Neon giggled and wrapped her hands around the glass, water droplets clinging onto the outside of the glass. She blushed, saying, "You're so considerate, Kuroro."

My lips pulled back into a hint of a smile and I said, "Thank you."

Picking up my fork, I worked it into my salad. Forking a piece of chicken and lettuce in my mouth, I embraced the tenderness of the meat and chewed each mouthful after quicker than usual. I must finish before she finishes her glass. Otherwise, it would be an awkward situation with only me eating. Because really, I was a boring man with little words. The effort to smooth talk and please a girl was not in me today. Picking up my cup of iced coffee, I drained that too.

She watched me expectantly, but I turned over to sneak a glance at her brother. He sat there with his sandwich and drink, half-finished. I turned my eyes back on her.

"Are you going to wait for your brother?"

She glanced past me for a second before coming to a decision. "Nope. Doesn't matter. What are you going to do next?"

I hummed. Looking at the large clock sitting on the counter of the cashier, I noted there was still half an hour until my break was over. "We can wait for him together?"

She perked at the suggestion but her eyes were still hesitant. At that very moment, I knew she was considering the pros and cons. But light came to her eyes quick. "Okay!" She crossed her arms and leaned forward on the table. A light twinkled in her swampy green orbs and something in my guts twitched. That couldn't be a good sign. She pursed her lips and gave me a good question to think about. "If you're free tomorrow, want to have a picnic?"

"Tomorrow..." I pondered the word, the question. This time, I was the one placing the pros and cons. Tomorrow was Friday, it would depend what time for me to be free, but if I wanted, I could make time. The question was to entertain her or not to. I placed a hand folded under my chin and I looked out the window, searching for an answer. Usually, answers did not come running to you when you needed them, but there were times when I felt that the Goddess of Luck was married to me. At the very moment I looked out the window, I saw my soon-to-be cat strolling along, stifling a yawn. Then the irony struck me like lightning. I was only fooling myself in thinking I had the Goddess of Luck on my side; it must have been the Harvest Goddess pulling her strings again. I laughed inwardly and looked back at Neon, seeing she was also eyeing the stray cat peculiarly.

"I think I have time at noon. And why don't we invite Kurapika too?" I smiled at her, watching her turn to face me, blushing in embarrassment. She lowered her head and coughed, nodding.

"That sounds like a good idea." She took a sip of her water and looked up, recovered. She stood up with eagerness burning in her eyes. She said one last thing before bolting out the door and leaving her brother behind. "Okay, tomorrow at noon! Meet up at the clearing behind the Carpenter's cottage, okay!"

I followed her with my eyes as she ran after the retreating back of Kurapika and then I remembered something rather important. _"What you make is not edible ninety percent of the time anyway."_

~x~

I wove through the small scatter of trees, past fallen and outstretched branches and the accumulating pools of blossom petals on the ground. Under the biggest tree should be where the grass clearing was, beside a sparkling fresh water stream. Surely, there was a plaid patterned tablecloth laid under the shade of the tree. I walked over to the cloth, but there was no one in sight.

It seemed that someone had been here before me, but left again.

I sat myself down on the end near the stream and stared at the clear water, making out the fishes that swam in its body. The small slender bodies darting to and fro in the water opened their mouths and took in gulps of water, gulping its way through the stream and kissing the rocky floor for insects and grass. Watching them run carefree in the water made me wonder what being a fish was like—what they were thinking. Was it survival? Competition?

But my thoughts were dispersed with the sudden interruption of a familiar voice. I shifted my body to face the rocky road that ran from the farm and turned around the Carpenter's land. Running down that road was everyone's favourite pink haired princess waving her arm in the air. The slight figure that trailed along behind her was my favourite pastime. As of three days ago.

I nodded at Neon and tilted my head to look over at the blond with a habitual smile on my lips. Albeit the answer to my smile was a frown and a click of tongue from him.

"Sorry, Kuroro! I told Kurapika the wrong location yesterday, so I had to run and fetch him over earlier," she explained through panting breaths.

"It's okay," I waved them over.

Neon pulled the reluctant boy forward and planted him down on the edge of the cloth to my left before setting herself beside him and across from me. I could see the blond was unhappy with the arrangement, his face was flashing with negative signals. Although originally I had planned for Neon to be sitting on either side of me and have the boy in front of me—I wouldn't have guess Neon would choose not to sit beside me—but I guess this seating plan was alright too.

We sat there simply staring at each other for a deafeningly silent minute before Neon broke the silence with her nervous laugh and she took her basket and placed it in the center of the tablecloth.

"H-hey, maybe we should eat now? I made sandwiches this morning!" she added cheerfully, trying to break the ice. Then Kurapika turned to give her a look that shouted, "All by yourself?" Neon pointed a finger to her chin and hesitantly added, "Well...my brother _did_ help me a bit..."

Kurapika lowered his voice and shook his head. "He spoils you too much."

"But Papa told him to help me with things, you know!" she huffed in complaint, defending her case.

_They both spoil you too much_, I thought to myself.

I reached forward and lifted the cover to reveal fruit sandwiches. "I bet you tried hard making them. Okay, we'll eat now, right Kurapika?"

"Sure..." He reached for the sandwich closest to him and took it in his hands, discreetly examining its content while Neon picked up one slice for herself. I took the slice in front of me and took the first bite, noticing the boy eyeing me patiently.

"How is it?" she asked me excitedly, eyes sparkling and lashes batting expectantly.

I swallowed the bread and fruit mixed in between. It didn't taste anything more than fruits mashed together and lined between slices of bread. "Good," I commented with a meaningless smile.

She jumped up in glee and laughed. She sat back down and turned to Kurapika, urging him, "Well, it's your turn now! Take a BIG bite!"

He stuffed a quarter of the sandwich in his mouth and chewed into it. His expression was blank, but he smiled with his eyes after swallowing and said, "Yeah, it's good."

Then for the next few minutes, we all focused on our sandwiches. The eating was silent, as was the part that came after.

Having finished and emptied my hands, I leaned back on them, playing with fistfuls of grass. I watched the blond and pink haired duo stare blankly at the trees and shyly at the stream respectively. A smirk creased at the corner of my mouth. One was bored mindless and the other was being eaten under the pressure to break the silence once more while I was the only one that enjoyed this awkwardness.

But it happened that the blond was scheming his escape. How thoughtless he was, to only leave by himself.

He raised himself up from his seated position and voiced his retreat, "Since everyone is finished eating now, I will excuse myself—"

"No!" I secured his wrist in my hand and put a halt to his plans. I leaned forward and looked across from me. That forward rejection did not come from my mouth.

It was Neon's high voice. I saw that she also had her hand wrapped around the boy's other wrist, pulling him lower to her side. She clasped onto him like a koala to a tree, pleading him with her eyes. He was staring at her with wide eyes, hair effortlessly falling over his eyes, shimmering in the sunlight. He looked over at me with confusion fogging his gaze. I tightened my gripped and pulled his closer to me, warning him in a hushed voice. "Do not leave if you care about a life of peace."

He cocked a brow at me and fell back on his rear as Neon pushed him down on the cloth again. She also whispered something in his ear before returning in her seat, if my eyes were still keen and my ears still young.

An intuitive feeling stirred in my guts and I let go of his wrist, placing a hand propped under my chin and the other on my knee.

I narrowed my gaze on Neon and felt my senses sharpened.

_I see how it is._

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><p>LE GASP! What was it that Neon said? What was it! Kura please tell us in the next chapter~! And please review for a chocolate heart~<p>

P.S. I'll be uploading previews to the next chapters in my profile now, so check regularly for them.


	7. Seven: Rendezvous with the Devil

**A/N: **What did I say! I told you I would upload twice this month! AHAHAH. For once I did not lie. Ok, so finally it's time for the plot to thicken. Of Neon, Goddess, Kurapika and Kuroro-tell me who the devil is! Read and review!

***Note:** A Kappa is a mythical turtle creature kinda thing.

EDIT: August 1 2013.

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Rendezvous with the Devil<strong>

* * *

><p>I shifted in my crossed-legged position, trapped between the spoiled sister of a friend and the nightmare of my life. It had been one and a half hour since we got here, and finished our purpose a long, long time ago. I cast my gaze down at the grass, beginning to wonder why I was even here. Rather, what the purpose of this event was.<p>

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon, one which I could have spent doing many other wondrous activities. For example, having a meal outside the veranda _alone_.

_"Kurapika, you can't leave! If you leave now, Kuroro will just leave after you! I-I want to tell him something later..."_

I ran a hand through my bangs, warmed by the sun. I darted a glance toward Neon, catching her attention for a mere second before I looked away to where Kuroro sat. _If you have anything to say, now is the time._

"Um," Neon nervously shattered the silence, bringing out gazes to focus on her.

But before she could finally say what she had been dying to put out, another voice jumped in. "I'm sorry, Neon. I have to leave now. I'm booked for the afternoon."

I looked up at him as he rose from the cloth. _Oh, I'm sure you are._ I turned to see what the expression on Neon's face would be. She was shocked at the horrible timing, with her eyes shot wide and mouth dropped open. Her pink coloured fingernails picked aggressively at her red pleated skirt and her eyes wandering with a shy hint of hope down on her knees.

"Right now? You can't stay _any_ longer?" she lifted her chin and gave Kuroro her best puppy dog eyes, though failing to incite much of a reaction, unfortunately. After a quiet second, she also rose up on her feet and thundered over to him, with her hands clasped together in front of her chest, perhaps in prayer.

Kuroro inched slightly closer down toward Neon, and if my knowledge of the man was still reliable, I would say there was definitely a smirk hidden behind his mask of a troubled gentleman. Definitely.

He stared earnestly into Neon's weak, wavering teal orbs as he performed yet again, his secret arts of seduction. Being the shrewd man he was, he unleashed that move on anyone inconvenient. If one were weak hearted and lacked will power, they would be his perfect victim. I knew this much from the couple times he dared played that move on me in the past. His seductive charms were rendered useless when it came to me, but they worked like magic when it came to almost everybody else. One hundred twenty percent effective with women.

He carefully brushed the ends of Neon's bangs with his deceiving fingers, and I could practically see her heart skip a beat. A smart move played. "I'm sorry, but I have an appointment soon. Is there something really important you must tell me?"

The direct hit caught a gasp out of Neon and she backed up a step, flailing her hands in front of her. "N-No, no! Nothing so important, er, I mean... I'll tell you later, m'kay? Haha..."

And with a whip, she steered herself toward me, a crooked smile appearing on her glossed lips. She wrapped her arms under my arm and jerked me up with the strength I never knew she had in her. She patted my back loudly, laughing awkwardly and slurred the words I never promised, "Okay, then Kurapika and I will leave too. You said you would walk me home, right Kurapika?"

She stared at me with her batting eyes and I pulled myself out of her grasp slowly. I stammered, "W-Well, uh, I don't remember—"

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot already, you silly goose!" she punched my arm lightly, discreetly passing me a glare. She swung around and waved at Kuroro. "Good luck with work. I'll talk to you later, so bye for now!"

Kuroro stood unmoving in his spot, the same phony business smile on his lips as he studied Neon's profile behind his masked character. But before the silence grew long enough to become suspicious, he waved and replied with a hollow, "Bye."

Neon pulled me along as she turned to pick up her basket and blanket, but right before he turned to head up the route upstream, I caught a glimpse of a glare in Kuroro's eyes. The moment only lasted for a mere second, and if I were any less attentive, I would have missed the slip of emotion that came through the constant blank he wore. I was surprised enough to almost gasp. The deathly vibe that lingered in his presence reminded me that I only knew the man as deep as the arrogant layer of his character existed. Whatever consisted of his core must also be where his emotions and secrets mingled. Thinking back, he did tell me something about his hometown on the first day.

_"__I also like summer most. It's the time when I can come here and be away from my home town with an eligible excuse."_

I felt the heat tingling in my cheeks and I quickly looked down, shaking the thought out of my head. On second thought, let's not think back. It was too embarrassing to be remembered. So very embarrassing.

"Let's hurry home, now." I passed in front of Neon and marched forward, trying to erase the memory from my mind.

With my attention passing on anything and everything, I heard the sigh that left Neon's lips as she trailed along behind me.

I peered behind my shoulder. Neon had her head hung low, sighing again and absentmindedly twirling a strand of her hair. I asked out of curiosity, "What were you going to say that was so important?"

She perked at the mention and eyed me guiltily, playing with her hair. She hesitated again as she averted her eyes to avoid mine. After much consideration, she confessed, "It's about the firework show in a few days... I was—I mean I wasn't going to ask him to come with me or anything. I just wanted to ask if he was planning on going, like, at all."

She coughed and tried to put on a face to show that it was the most normal thing to ask, which anybody could tell with one glance what her true intentions were. She wanted to ask Kuroro out to see the fireworks together. No, that was an inaccurate statement. Let me rephrase that. She wanted Kuroro to ask _her_ out to see the fireworks together. And the best part was she felt bad telling me this because she thought I was almost certain to be jealous, especially since I put up with her picnic scheme that gave me zero benefit. But let me reassure myself, that I absolutely do not harbour any jealousy toward Kuroro for winning Neon's attention. Though I'm sure the devious man enjoyed making me feel jealous of their rendezvous. I'm betting that was the reason why he kept agreeing to Neon's grand wishes and dates while always making sure I would some way or another stumble upon them _accidentally_. Oh, the thousand words his condescending smirks tell.

"I'm sure he will show up. Because his shop is on the location of the event, remember?" I said with an unintentionally condescending tone. I bit my lip as I brought upon a scary thought to myself. Sometimes I did things that were very...alike to him. Which I did not cope well with when it came back to me.

"Of course! Oh my god, Kurapika, you're so smart! Well that's because you're the librarian right?" She clapped her hands and laughed with glee.

Yes, yes indeed. If you did not have at least that much common sense in you, forget librarian, I wouldn't even trust you to be my cashier. Not to mention the girl came from a family of doctors and was studying to become a nurse. One thing to keep in mind—never let her handle my health if I ever ended up in the hospital.

"I…" I wanted to tell her it was only common sense, but decided against since I wasn't sure what her reaction would be. So I ended with, "sure am?"

"Alright! I'm going to go this way from here. I'm meeting up with a friend now." She pointed towards the direction of the plaza and whirled over toward that side. She waited for my response before running off into the town square.

"Okay, then I'll see you later." I smiled as I waved her off.

But as soon as I picked up a foot she suddenly turned around and shouted at the top of her lungs, "WAIT!"

I jumped with a start at her sudden demanding voice. I slowly angled my head to meet her closing in voice. With a bullet of cold sweat rolling down one side of my temple, I asked in a shaken voice, "W-What is it now?"

"I forgot to tell you to keep this a secret from Kuroro! Don't you dare tell him what we talked about, okay?" she threatened with a clenched fist waving in my face.

I pushed her fist away from my face and sighed. "I understand, but do you really think the both of us actually speak to each other?"

She pulled a blank face after realizing her action was wasted effort. She scratched her chin. "Hey, you're right. Then why did he want to invite you to the picnic too?"

I stared at her pondering face with a straight face, but in my mind, gears were turning and I was analyzing the event that took place this morning, calculating what would be next. That scheming bastard actually wanted to play this horrid game.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she wondered at my poker face.

I feigned a smile and shook my head. "Nothing. Don't you have a friend waiting for you?"

"OH! Right, bye and remember not to tell him!" She turned around and ran off to where she had earlier headed to.

With the plastic smile slowly melting from my lips, I also spun around on my heels and sprinted off in the direction I came from. With my hands clasped in front of me, this time I whispered my prayers. I was already on my way up the hill to the Goddess Pond.

_Don't let him be there. Don't let him be there. Please don't be there. _

After I made it up the hill, I stealthily maneuvered behind the shades of the trees, trying to blend in with the scenery. First thing first, I checked if the cursed devil was anywhere to be seen. Closing in to the heart of the green landscape, I caught the faint voices of a couple.

I held my breath and trained my ears on the voices coming from the goddess pond. The voices belonged to a man and a woman. I held my hands up in prayer once more, praying the man was not one dressed in black from head to toe.

Raising my head from my clasped fist, I gulped. Softly lifting my foot, I stepped down on the lush grass step by step. I made it close enough to touch the fresh water flowing from the pond. Though for the moment, I stayed with the plan to observe further.

Sticking behind the tall tree like there was glue on my back, I inched my head to the right and listened for the important words. Now the voices could be distinguished and words can be made out. I noticed one of the voices belonged to the Goddess, so I concentrated on the voice of the man yet to be heard clearly. And certainly he spoke right after, with a low silky voice that coerced the Goddess into believing something he had said.

_Kuroro!_ A breath of surprise escaped my lungs and I immediately covered my mouth with both hands. I squeezed my eyes shut, cursing behind my palms. Not only that, under my hands, I felt my skin heat up after overhearing what he had said.

_"I will win...Kurapika over."_

That was all I heard before I lost my train of thought. I burrowed my face in the palms of my hands, dwelling in angst I knew I would be getting all too familiar with in the near future.

"Kurapika?" a voice from behind me called with a questioning tone.

I jumped at the sound of my own name. _Crap._ I didn't know how they found out it was me, but the problem now is walking out. I slammed my hand down on the trunk of the tree. I shouldn't have hidden myself, now if I went out I would look suspicious.

Picking up my feet, I walked out of the tree's shadow and into the light with the most confidence I could muster.

"Why—" I began my question, but bit it back as soon as my mind mulled over the consequences of knowing what could be better left unknown. But with all eyes on me now, I couldn't have not carried on. "—was my name in that conversation?"

Kuroro sauntered over with a smirk on his lips and the implications twinkling like stars in the night stolen in his eyes.

I fought back the urge to back away from the impending disaster that easily made his way toward me. I narrowed my eyes on his orbs that danced with laughter, trying to be as intimidating as I could.

"If that was all you heard, then I'm keeping it a secret for now." His grin widened and he bent down to pick a blue daisy from its stem.

I watched dumbly as he did so, and when he abruptly erected, I took a step back instinctively. With the speed his fingers brushed past my hair, I had no idea what had happened until he said with laughing lips, "Here, a flower for the stray cat to make it up."

I didn't know why, but for the third time today, my face was tingeing with the tones of fire—and all because of this one person. I wasn't sure for how long, but for a while I stood there looking like an idiot with my face painted red and staring aimlessly. By the time I came around to pass an attempt at retorting, he had already made his escape.

My shoulders shook with the pent up emotions I couldn't express to a man that was already long gone. In a huff, I stormed over to the Goddess Pond and tore the flower out of my hair, throwing it angrily into my own beet red reflection.

The Goddess, still materialized from her previous visit, giggled at my little tantrum. She waved her hand in the air, holding the teleported blue daisy, and gushed, "Oh, young love—"

"It is _not_ love!" I almost screamed that fact at her. My fist tightened by my sides and my eyebrows digging farther down the middle.

"Yes, yes. It's not love _yet_. So tell me. How may I help you?" she leaned down and smiled at me from her higher position, clearly replicating her holy importance over my humble self.

I turned away and frowned at her persistence to label us that cliché word. After calming down a little, my gaze softened and I looked back into her moss green eyes. "Will you grant me one wish?"

"Name your wish, darling." She straightened her divine self and looked down on me behind her flowing stark green hair.

I watched her facial expression carefully, firmly voicing my wish, "Shorten this summer, please."

She did not let go of her straight face as she monotonously demanded, "Your reason?"

Reason? The only reason for my love-hate relationship with this merry season was the sole man that tended to ruin everything in life for me. Even though I dealt with his unpleasant presence for more than seven years of my life, I had a hunch that this year was going to be especially bad for me. Yes, let me emphasis _me_, as in only _I_. There was one thing about Kuroro that I was most certain of—he enjoyed nothing more than my pained expressions.

I threw my hands in front of me, one on top of my chest while the other was spread in the open. I tried to stress on how important this was to me. "It's him! I have a bad feeling about this year. Kuroro, I know he'll—"

"I'm sorry. I cannot grant you that wish. No, more like it will not make a difference even if I do so. Unfortunately, it seems that Kuroro beat you to it," she sighed breathily as she crossed her lanky arms in front of her.

I was flabbergasted, speechless. Once again, that man did something that impeded my plans. Every time. This happened every time!

"Damn it! What did he say?" I shouted. My nails tearing throw the fabric of my pants with its death grip.

The Goddess firmly held my gaze, wrapping her arms around herself from a wind that only collected around her being. Her thin lips moved in eloquent speech, "He may have known you would try to wish such a thing, so he himself wished for a longer summer to cancel out your plea for a shorter summer."

My mouth dropped from its jaw and my eyes stung with the overflowing anguish that drowned me upon the revelation. "This cannot be happening to me."

"There appears to be no escape for you, Kurapika. You will have to walk this path," she rolled the words on her tongue, coating them with the tone of severity that did not deserve its place on such a joke of fate. She watched me observantly with her condoning moss coloured orbs, pardoning the evil that accumulated in my sapphire orbs.

I closed my eyes, shutting myself from the cruel reality of my fate. With my long lashes quivering against my skin, I scorned behind clenched teeth, "This sad, bitter path, my goddess?"

Her strong piercing eyes softened on my marred features, glistening in a watery way. "Yes, indeed."

I cringed beneath her pitying demeanour, wondering aloud for her sudden change in attitude, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Never mind me. I have a task for you. Be here tomorrow at dawn with a hoe, pickaxe, something to dig with. There's a gem buried in Kappa Lake I want you to retrieve for me." She extended her arm toward me and her fingers slightly brushing against my hair, finding their destination on the earring hanging from my left ear. She leaned in closer and smiled endearingly at me. "Will you do me that favour?"

"I...will," I added with confidence. No matter what, I could not refuse a favour from the Goddess herself.

She cheered joyously, "That is great! But rest assure. I will not burden you with the task alone. _He_ has already agreed to help me too."

I tensed at her news. Narrowing my eyes on her deceptive character, I accused, "You tricked me."

"I did no such thing. Now, be sure to come here at dawn tomorrow, you wouldn't want to be labouring in the afternoon heat," she reminded me again. And then after remembering something important, she waved her finger at me, saying, "Also, Kuroro does not know you will be helping too. So do not leave him a fool, knowing this, okay?"

She stared at me patiently, arms crossed, so out of obligation, I nodded reluctantly. But oh, how tempting it sounded to just leave the man a stood up fool.

Because, I would never acknowledge such a fate.

* * *

><p>Kurapika submerging in the ice cold fresh water, emerging with sparkling water beads on his golden locks, eyes glowing a fiery red that rivals his cherry lips. Oh tell me, Kuroro! How can you resist that inviting beast!<p>

K bye.


	8. Eight: And the Sun Will Shine

**A/N:** First, let me apologize for taking light-years to upload this chapter. This is almost becoming a ritual, but alas it will end here. I will promise next chapter a few weeks later. This time I'm betting my name on it. I couldn't update in June because of exams, but now it's summer! Hurray! Okay. So. This is a bonding chapter for Kurokura! Like finally, right?** Read and review please! : )**

EDIT: April 24, 2013 - dear readers,** I sincerely advise you to reread this chapter** for I just realized there was a slight plot hole before. Precisely, Kuroro knew of the "errand" before Kurapika and not vice versa. Also, I realized this chapter contains important clues for the future...

* * *

><p><strong>GLITCHED: And the Sun Will Shine<strong>

* * *

><p>"I've come."<p>

A wisp of mossy locks and glitter induced silk blurred past my field of vision, leaving behind only a subtle scent of morning grass.

"So you have," a voice of infinite youth affirmed.

I shifted my eyes on the blond standing a metre away from my back leaned against the cool rocky cliff beside the short waterfall. His head turned, feeling the heat of my gaze.

I smiled.

He grimaced at my instinctive greeting. He begrudgingly spoke, "I keep my word."

I nodded and responded, "There was never a doubt."

No soul would deny the Goddess' command. The boy was no exception. And neither was I. I pushed my back off the stone cliff and picked my bag up from the lush green grass.

"And where is this gem exactly?" I asked the half formed being floating over our heads in her bellowing silk gown. I was told about the details obviously later than the physically more prepared boy beside me. I was told the previous day to return today for an errand, but I was neither told what I would be doing nor whom I would be doing it with.

She drifted across the cliff's top, beckoning us to follow her with a waggle of her finger. After capturing our attention, she pointed over a mass of trees. With a nod she ran her hand down one of her thick braids, dispersing into a sheet of sparkles and giving the illusion that she was merely a cloud of mist.

"_Do not disappoint me, dears."_

I turned my head toward the echoing voice, realizing it was not coming from one location, but every. Yet the shuffling of grass against feet definitely came behind me. I turned accordingly and saw the high strung blond already leaving for the other side of the cliff.

A ghost of a smirk touched my lips before I teased, "Aren't you an eager one, dear?"

His thin shoulders stiffened at the affectionate address. He primly turned and glared at me with his narrowed eagle eyes. "Just because I ignore it when the Goddess calls me that does not mean I like being called so _or_ mean you can get off calling me so. Another point, I am only eager to go back to the library."

I quirked an eyebrow at his statement, not at all fazed by the implications. _High strung, indeed._ Deciding not to reply, I simply shrugged and walked after him with my bag in one hand.

I watched his retreating narrow back and sighed soundlessly. This was only a pastime, I reminded myself.

~x~

I pulled myself up on the hedge of grass, kicking the water under my feet. Pushing the wet locks of bangs back in their usual manner, I flung the water droplets that attached to my arms across the field.

Looking back into the shallow lake before me, I searched for the faintest glimmer of gold beneath the rippled water. I spotted the head of gold pop up near the small piece of land at the centre of the lake. His gaze met mine and he shook his head, causing a shower of water droplets to rain down around him, to denote that he had found nothing. I smiled inwardly at the scene. Strands of gold clung to his tinted cheeks and the persistent water that trickled down his forehead slid down his nose, stopping at his flushed lips for a kiss before submerging back into its native home along with its host.

I turned away after losing my interest and began rummaging through my bag for a pair of goggles that I coincidentally happened to have. Since blindly digging around was clearly not an efficient method for the job, I conceived that searching under the water with my eyes offered a higher success rate.

Unfortunately, Kurapika did not have anything as useful considering how impatient he was starting to get with this.

I pulled the goggles on and called out to the teen that was bent over, trying to catch a glimmer of a gem through the surface, "Kurapika, stay up for a while."

He turned around and through his observations deducted my approach. He dragged himself through the shoulder deep lake and quickly reached up the opposite end of the lake.

I stepped into the lake that only reached to my torso and took in a deep breath before plunging into its cold body. I could clearly see the bottom of the lake. I hunched over and walked about the perimeter of the lake, surveying the floor for obvious glimmers of precious stones. I realized that I didn't even know how this rock looked like, which made this task that much more difficult.

I began circling around the little piece of island at the centre, surrounded by deeper waters. I carefully inspected the rocks and mud, seeing nothing but dull brown earth. With my focus devoted on searching for the lost jewel, I failed to notice the splash of a body behind my back. I must say, that was not like me at all.

When I resurfaced for air, Kurapika was no longer sitting on the grassy shore to my right. I whipped around to find the blond digging at the edge of the opposite side of the lake. Had he found the gem before I did? Was that even be possible? I started to move over to him, when he suddenly jumped up and faced me. His lips parted with an urgency that suggested he was going to say something of utmost importance, but a large wave wrapped around him and before the situation fully processed through my mind, I was already swimming after him. The wave that was strange enough to begin with transformed into an unnatural whirlpool, enveloping the both of us. With the force of the water, I soon caught up to Kurapika who was struggling to reach me with his outstretched hand. I easily grabbed his hand but when we finally made contact, he drew his hand back and was inevitably pulled down into the centre of the lake that I never remembered being this deep. Then almost as if to keep me away, the supernatural phenomenon ceased and I was pushed back by an aggressive wave.

My head bobbed up in the surface and my lungs eagerly squeezed out a painful amount of water. I swam over to the little island and screamed down into its depth, "Kurapika!"

There was no reply. I didn't know what I was expecting by shouting his name from the surface. I would have sworn on my whole fortune that he was pulled into a dark abyss at the bottom of this lake.

I dipped my head down into the water again and felt the bottom of the lake with my feet, walking along its rocky sand. I touched the pillar of earth that was connected to the bottom of the lake and the island. There was no hole, no crack. Just a rock bottom pit that my feet could reach with the possibility of drowning absolutely zero. Of course, excluding the scenarios of suicide and homicide.

Then where did that leave me?

I looked at my hand that Kurapika had been foolish enough to let go off and for better or for worse, there it was, the gem laying innocently in all its glory. With one glance, one could tell that the translucent mineral radiating an otherworldly ivory was the Goddess' gemstone. It held with it a mysterious aura that slightly disturbed me.

Climbing up ashore, I pulled the goggles off my eyes and threw them down onto my bag.

The only option I had was the obvious one.

I ran down the hill from the grass field and turned back up into forest area adjacent to where I came from. At the end of the steep trek, I came to a stop in front of the Goddess Pond. Taking a second look at the gem in my hand, I shot down the growing idea of taking off with the gem for myself. Before I changed my mind, I dropped the ivory gem into the pond.

Seconds later, she materialized into her form, eyes inspecting the gem now in her palms. She greeted me with her gaze and acknowledged, "This is it. Good job, Kuroro. But where is Kurapika?"

I did not waste time and got straight to the point. "I don't know. All of a sudden a whirlpool formed and pulled him down into the lake bottom. It was so deep down, the bottom looked like an abyss and I was pushed back before I could do anything. Though I suppose you should be aware of this already."

Her grassland orbs probed into the vast blankness of my darker orbs for the images I had captured in them. She was doing it again, looking into my memories. I could feel it.

She nodded silently. "I do not watch everything that happens in this town. But I was able to figure out what happened from looking into your memories." She stopped to see my expression at the revelation and to her disappointment, it was as blank as my gaze. Then she continued, "That lake is called Kappa Lake, did you know? And like the Goddess Pond, it is not called Kappa Lake for nothing. There lives a guardian in that lake who normally does not show its face to people. But I'm assuming that it was disturbed by something and that caused him to go on a rampage. I was hoping it would not come to this."

She massaged her temple with her long fingers and sighed.

"I'm guessing the disturbance was caused by that gem," I stated with more confidence than a random guess. I confirmed for myself that the Goddess' gemstone did emit a disturbing aura. And knowing that this gem was an item belonging to the Goddess, it must have been foreign to the lake guardian. So from these facts, I could deduce that the guardian had mistaken Kurapika for the owner of the gem and taken him in with the line of thinking that the criminal always returned to the scene of crime. Then clearly, it was the Goddess' fault that Kurapika was kidnapped.

She looked into my eyes with a polite smile. I closed my eyes in response.

"You are quite sharp. Though I shouldn't expect anything less from you, Kuroro." She admitted easily. Eyeballing me again, she apologized, "It was my mistake. I apologize."

I shifted my weight on my feet and said, "You don't need to apologize to me. I wasn't the one that was kidnapped. But am I wrong in saying that you have plans to rescue Kurapika?"

She chuckled half-heartedly before saying, "You are right again. There is something I know the Kappa will accept as an apology and return dearest Kurapika."

I cocked an eyebrow and questioned what that item was.

"Something like this." She snapped her fingers and a plump blue berry shot up from under the pond and landed itself in my hands.

I stared incredulously down at the berry the size of my hands. I looked up at the Goddess with suspicious eyes.

"This will be enough?" I asked.

"Yes, I assure you. But the Kappa is a shy one. To call him out will be difficult," she mused with a finger on her thin lips.

I stood back and nodded, letting her do all the thinking. I didn't even know what this Kappa thing was to begin with, so my input on this will be irrelevant.

The Goddess twisted her braid between her fingers and occasionally glanced down at the lake behind the thick mass of trees from her standing point.

"Alright, I was trying to avoid this, but there is no other way. You will have to take my gem back and hope that he will take you down with its reappearance." She passed the gem back to me and sighed dejectedly.

I looked down at the gem and then back up at the Goddess, but she had disappeared quicker than I expected.

Tightening my grip on the gem, I laughed quietly to myself. _We meet again, beautiful._

The Goddess was careless in placing the gem in my possession again, but I guess this was why she was reluctant to give this to me, knowing how I was.

Well, my priority was still in rescuing the blond.

~x~

So I was back at the lake, staring calmly into its depth. With my goggles on again, I have the gem in my hand and my shoes and bag placed on a tree stump.

Dragging in a deep breath I jumped into the lake and after wandering for a few minutes, I was welcomed by an aggressive whirlpool. I gladly offered myself into its currents.

I watched as I was pulled down into the darkness and then into a hole at the bottom of a dark pillar, which is likely to be the chunk of land in the middle of the lake. It was like the entrance into an underwater cave. Dark, with puddles scattered on the uneven ground and only the faintest glimmer of light at the heart of the cave.

With a good amount of force, I was thrust into the light by the water and then it quickly retreated behind me as if by command. It was sloppy, but I managed to land on my feet.

Straightening myself, I analyzed my surrounding and found a very distressed looking teenager staring at me up ahead. The green being that almost looked as if it evolved from a turtle stood hunched over the teenager. Yes, that must be the Kappa.

"Hello," I greeted calmly as I marched over to the party of two.

The green creature looked up from Kurapika and squinted his beady eyes at me. He hunched a little more into his shell and screeched, "You have that evil thing! You must be the one who caused me this entire headache."

I wrapped my hand around Kurapika's wrist and pulled him behind me as gently as I could, ignoring the confused looked he was giving me and answered, "That's right. I have the gem. But I wasn't the one causing you trouble. This gem does not belong to me."

The Kappa shrunk back more in his shell and watched me cautiously. He mumbled quietly, "Are you going to tell me that it was the Harvest Goddess behind this…?"

"You're right… How did you know?" I didn't even try to conceal the bit of surprise in my voice when those words came out my lips.

"Because I was trying to explain it to him, but he wouldn't believe me." The blond behind me squirmed in my grasp, flinching slightly when he felt my eyes land on him.

The corners of my lips twitched up as I recalled the first and second rule from the book I borrowed from the library._ I must show him that I can be trusted and show him that good things happen when I am around. _

I released my grip around his wrist and placed the Goddess' gem in his hand instead. He looked at me with his big sapphire eyes, following my movements to try and comprehend what I was planning. I gave him a carefree smile and turned to walk closer to the shy creature hiding in his shell.

I took out the blue berry from my pocket and held it at arm's length for him to see. "The Goddess gave me this as an apology for the disturbance she caused you. She told us that she had lost the gem and wanted us to bring it back for her. You believe this berry is from the Goddess, don't you?"

The Kappa slowly grew closer to get a better look at the tempting berry in my palm. I grinned inwardly when he picked the berry up by its stem and stepped back to sniff it.

He liked it.

"This definitely is something regular mortals wouldn't have." He darted a shy glance between me and Kurapika before dismissing us as not guilty. "Okay...I believe you."

I nodded while Kurapika exhaled a sigh of relief and thanked him for finally understanding.

The guardian of the lake walked forward and motioned for us to follow. With his stubby webbed fingers, he pointed toward the mouth of the silent cave. "I will have a whirlpool bring you back to the surface. Please prepare yourselves."

I straightened myself and braced for the incoming current of water and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Kurapika ogling me without so much as discretion. I tilted my head to be greeted with his studious gaze and descending lips. I countered with my triumphant look and ascending lips. His prideful self looked away with a snort but closed the space between us when the energetic water began circling around us.

Once again we were trapped in the whirlpool's vortex and transported back in its rough currents. Though we shortly arrived ashore.

I climbed over the hedge of grass and shook the water out of my arms, while more droplets travelled down my back from my hair. Turning around, I offered a hand to the teen who was trying to push himself up. I wasn't surprised when he brushed me off and got up on his own.

He stood up beside me and said while wringing his clothes, "Don't treat me like a child."

I shrugged. "I was only being friendly."

"I do not want to be your friend," he rebutted with a scowl on his face, his eyes burning with disgust.

"Why do you hate me so much anyway?" I voiced the question that I have been trying to figure for years. I knew I teased him often, but that was only because he hated me to the extent that his reactions were never boring to watch.

A frown creased his forehead as his voice spilled with contempt, "You were always giving me those belittling looks back then. I was smart enough as a ten-year-old to differentiate your deriding looks from those unnecessary pitying glances from other adults. You were indirectly laughing at me with amusement. And you're a shady character no matter how I look at it."

For a moment my voice was caught in my throat with amazement. It wasn't entirely amazement of his perception as a kid, but amazement at how ambiguous I could be without even being conscious of it. Alright, I admit. I did find amusement in his misfortune, but I wasn't exactly laughing at _him_, per se. More so I was laughing at myself, at the familiarity of his lost. In other words, I was laughing at my own misfortune. He was only the constant reminder of the joke. Of course, he wouldn't have known that, nor did I intend to tell him now. But heck, this was becoming amusing for a whole other reason. Honestly, I think this kid cannot _not _be amusing.

Now I was audibly laughing. _I_ was hollering in laughter.

"W-What?" the boy carefully measured me with his observant eyes and cautioned a few steps back. I couldn't blame him. Even I would be surprised. The chances of me laughing genuinely were as low as me taming this wild cat. But since I just laughed, I guess the chances of taming him rose too.

"No, I mean I'm not laughing at you, but this is still really funny." I calmed myself down with a few breaths before I bothered to explain. "You see, I was not laughing at you in the past either. You simply reminded me of someone from the past and I couldn't help but find it ironic how you showed such distinct dislike toward me. And you should know that I do not show pity for people. Or any other emotions, in fact. Guess I am quite the shady character."

His sapphire orbs wavered in confusion as his lips pulled back into a troubled frown. He nibbled his lips in thought before coming to the conclusion, "If what you're saying is true, then you're saying I reminded you of yourself."

I cracked a smile at his precision. "I didn't say that."

He sighed and waved his hand in the air to dismiss my correction. "But I'm right, aren't I?"

I paused with a brief silence to contemplate truthfully answering him. But I decided to do what I do best—be ambiguous. "You may be right, or may not be. But now that we have cleared past misunderstandings, we can be friends."

He glanced up at me thoughtfully as the sun began beaming down on us as morning dragged into noon. He drew a breath with a huff and echoed, "We may be friends, or we may not be."

He strode toward me and pried my hand open with his thin fingers, dropping the gem that now seems to be glimmering a slight magenta in my palm. I looked down at him with raised brows, but he brushed past me and waltzed out of sight without another word.

My lips drew back with a smirk._ And_ _I may just like this kid._

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! <em>Now it's only one click away to a review~ ;D

P.S. From me to you, next chapter will be a d-a-t-e. KEKEKE.


	9. Nine: The Calm

**A/N: **THANK YOU! Yes, today we will start off with a thanks instead of a sorry for a change. Thank you to everyone who still follow and read this story! I appreciate the favs and reviews and follows! And the silents readers too, if I have them. Anyway, this chapter was by far, the hardest chapter for me to write. Mostly because nothing significant happens here and I have these episodes of the plot i need to sort out. This is kind of like the calm before the storm. Though depending on how i write the upcoming few chapters, the storm could be a blessing. By the way, do you guys prefer this to be angst or fluff...?

Anyway, I promised a date, so here it is... kind of.

EDIT: April 24, 2013

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: The Calm <strong>

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><p>I didn't want to believe it at first. If what he said was true, then that would mean I lived most of my life deceived and wasted. That was ten years of suffering for every three months of summer. With those lost years of my childhood, I could have spent them making pleasant memories playing in the fields and collecting Red Grass instead of avoiding and secretly plotting against a selfish merchant's demise. It was so saddening to know that it was all a misunderstanding, and mostly on my part. But it was still his damned ambiguous personality that made it possible for such a mistake to flourish and live for so many years! Unfair, life was so unfair.<p>

_Life is never fair, Kurapika._ That was something my grandmother continually lectured me no matter how old I grew. And now, I was beginning to relive its value.

I stretched my stiff arms in front of me and groaned in defeat at the fact that I couldn't do anything about it now. I should just be glad knowing that it would not be my whole life wasted in the end.

Flopping down onto the sofa in the living room, I picked up my cellphone and dialed Leorio's number.

The tone beeped for many times before the other end of the line picked up with a growl, "Hello?"

I sighed after hearing the frustration in his voice, knowing exactly what had caused it. I asked without much expectation, "So when are you going to come over?"

In the background the sound of glass shattering and voices squabbling was still present after the previous call I made an hour before. My friend's patience was starting to wear out, as his voice clearly illustrated. "I don't know! Neon's throwing a fit because the white dress that she bought for tonight was ruined in the wash and became blotchy red! God why do girls have to be so damn prissy, huh? You should be happy you don't have a sister—or rather I should consider moving out! This goddamn sister of mine already takes me for granted as it is. All the things I do for her, and this is what I have to deal with—"

The noise of Neon's screeching cries and Leorio's fast paced ranting accompanied by the breaking of glassware was not the kind of music I enjoyed. But it wouldn't surprise me if the siblings one day decide to form an emo rock band. They would be very successful.

"Yes, that seems to be the case. Alright, call me back when things are settled. Bye," I ended the call before his ranting carried on to way back when Neon was still a baby and Leorio was already having headaches from her wailing.

He would definitely be mad at me for hanging up, but I had been victim to his rants hundreds of times in the past already, and I will _not _waste anymore time of my life than I already had. I was already miserable enough dealing with my own life, thank you.

Placing the handheld device aside on the coffee table, I arched my head back and stared up at the ceiling. A breath escaped through my pursed lips. My mind was zoning out with nothing better to do. If I were to begin preoccupying myself with a book, there was the possibility of me becoming so engrossed as to ignore all incoming calls and doorbells. And that cannot happen because Leorio promised Gon and Killua on my behalf to attend tonight's firework show. The last time I remember going to one of those was when I was five or six. My grandmother had brought me to the beach that was overcrowded with people. It was insanely warm with all the people gathered in one small beach, picnic cloths and newspaper spread out on every square metre of the sand. After my grandmother passed away, I stopped trying to fit myself into the tight-spaced crowds of events and festivals. It was more pain than it was worth. But since Gon came, I found myself unwillingly pulled along on these occasions. That boy is like a magnet. And I think Killua can vouch so, too.

A smile graced my features. Well willingly or not, I do appreciate the unity Gon brought between us, younger ones of the town. Leorio, Gon, Killua and I were the only boys in town. That is, minus Killua's two younger siblings that I cannot confidently classify as males. I don't want to get into that, because Killua's family issues could get quite complex.

I walked to the kitchen for a glass of water, when the doorbell rang. I paused to wonder if it was Leorio. Walking through the living room, I reached for the doorknob. Pulling the door open, I did not find Leorio anywhere in sight. But what my eyes captured almost made me slam the door in front of me. Almost being the key word. The one factor leading to the failure of the cause was the foot wedged between the door and its frame. Then the second I loosen my hold on the doorknob, the door was pushed open. I had to jump back to avoid having my face flattened by the sturdy wood of the door.

"What?" I asked myself as well as the person who stealthily manoeuvred his way into my house.

"Hello." A shadow of black loomed before me, fashioned into skin tight racer tank top and loose denim jeans. The only colour contrast being the fancy silver buckle of a belt.

I choked out a breath from my gaping mouth, shaking my head vigorously. With a shuddering voice, I demanded, "No, I'm asking _what _you are doing here!"

I should start getting used him coming out of nowhere. It's been happening too often.

He—Kuroro—wormed past me and found himself in my living room. But strange enough, he had the modesty to not seat himself on the sofa. He stood in front of the hearth and made that his corner of the room.

He unzipped his side bag and pulled out a hardcover book. Innocently, he said, "I wanted to return the book I borrowed."

"I'm sorry, but the library is closed today." I crossed my arms in front of me, staying in the entrance.

"I didn't know," he replied curtly while running a hand through his casually dishevelled hair, unlike how he usually kept it slicked back.

An excuse, I recognized intuitively. There must be a reason why he chose to return the book today. I darted my gaze to the kitchen counter where my glass of water lay abandoned, not sure what to do next. An unnerving silence overtook the next few seconds that seemed to last a minute each.

But like a haunting ghost lifted off my shoulders, he broke the silence with an almost ulterior question. Quietly, he contemplated as the words came out, "Are you going to the firework show tonight?"

Taken by surprise, I snapped my head up from my previous downcast gaze. But both our attentions were stolen from us by the abrupt ringing of the vibrating device on the coffee table. We looked at each other in unison, before I trudged over to pick up the cellphone.

"Hello?" I asked monotonously.

"Hey, I finally got her to calm down. We'll be there in five, so get ready," Leorio announced with a sigh.

I ignored the last part of his message. I had been ready since an hour ago, and would have been gone to reserve a good seat in the beach, if not for his family issues.

"Alright, then I'll see you later." I ended the call and turned back to meet the anticipating eyes of Kuroro.

"It seems that I actually am going, now that the _princess_ seems to feel up to it," I put sarcastic emphasis on Neon's newborn nickname.

I slid the phone in one of the many pockets of my cargo shorts and proceeded to ransack my living room for one of the few hair elastics I kept. With my shoulder length hair, I would be sweating from neck down as soon as I stepped foot into the human infested beach. A thin white band hiding under the arm of the sofa caught my eyes, I hurriedly pulled it free. With the band tucked under one of my fingers, I sloppily bundled the ends of my locks together and attempted to tie it as so. When I heard footsteps fall behind me, I angled my head slightly to catch a glimpse, but a large hand held my head in place, disallowing me the chance.

The hand freed the elastic band from my clumsy fingers, and gently nudged my now empty hand away. "Here, let me help you," Kuroro's rich voice suggested as his other hand combed the fallen locks of my golden hair. I was too shocked with the sudden development to utter any words of rejection, so his hands continued to comb through my hair until all the stubborn strands stayed in place and he fastened the ends with the elastic, fingers lingering on the loose ends.

My blue-green eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when my brain finally pushed aside the shock to register what happen. Kuroro—Kuroro Lucifer had just casually played with my hair as if we were friends since preschool. No; even Leorio wouldn't do that, and he never will. Oh dear mother of God, the mere notion of the skirt chasing manic tangling his soiled hands in my defenceless golden locks was enough to send icy shivers down my spine for days to come. No, no, no! Now I couldn't get the image out of my mind and this was more than just slightly disturbing! I clenched my arms around myself and cringed as goosebumps prickled the skin of my arms. For some reason, the image of Leorio playing with my hair was more unpleasant, in ways more than one, than Kuroro doing so.

Kuroro, who must have been somewhat concerned about my sudden convulsive reaction, asked, "Is something wrong?"

I fought back the inevitable flush of my cheeks at the realization that I had just acknowledged my self-proclaimed sworn nemesis to be a higher human being than my presumably long time close friend. _It's only because he's more dignified than Leorio, _I repeated in my head in an attempt to convinced myself and possibly save what little honour I still thought of my friend.

Steering my gaze toward the hovering man, I forced a hiss in my voice and scolded, "That was unnecessary. You're acting way too friendly."

He straightened his back, surprised by my blunt words. But then a slow smile crept on his lips that reached even his dark eyes with a genuine tease. He propped one of his hand on his hip and asked provocatively, "Then you would rather it have been an intimate touch? Oh, I wouldn't mind—"

"Wrong!" I shouted and stuck the flat of my palm in his face before he could finish his sentence. I spun around and stormed for the front door, hiding my rapidly colouring face from the devil's ever perceptive eyes. But his footsteps quickly matched mine. I placed my hand on the doorknob, while careful not to receive his laughing gaze I mumbled, "Why are you _still_ here, may I ask?"

He chuckled in that smooth rich voice of his and exhibited his magical footwork again, coming in between me and the door. With his eye intent on me, he explained, "If the princess you earlier named is the same princess I'll be escorting, then our destination is the same."

My translucent ocean blue orbs lifted with memory. I had momentarily forgotten that Neon had said something along the lines of asking Kuroro out for the event. Or had it been the other way around? But then why did I have to wait for one and a half hour for Neon when this man was her so called escort? That didn't make any sense.

"I do remember Neon saying something like that, but then why is she tagging along with Leorio and I?" My confused gaze found salvation in his playful opaque orbs. "You're lying, aren't you?"

"I'm not lying. When she asked me, I promised her a nice seat when she got here. Someone had to be there first, right?" he smirked slyly. God, this man was a devil. Even I wouldn't ask a girl to walk alone at night. Even if she was Neon. Maybe. But then again, these summer nights didn't get dark until another hour, so…maybe, just _maybe_.

I snorted. "So _she_ asked you, huh? That's not exactly how I remembered it."

"Oh? How else would she have liked it?" he asked with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

I rolled the fact that Neon had told me to keep this a secret from Kuroro around my tongue, deciding whether to expose her or not. And I decided not to, since I did promise her. "Can't say, I promised her not to tell. Though I'm sure you can figure it out."

He crossed his arms and leaned back against the door. "I know. She wanted me to ask her out. Quite ambitious, isn't she?"

That I would have to agree with him.

"Well then, will you please move aside so I can leave?" I urged him to step away from the door.

He nodded and opened the door, stepping out before me. I followed him out and stopped to turn the key in the keyhole. Then simultaneously the Nostrade siblings left their abode—three buildings down— with matched steps. Between the four of us, we exchanged silent glances, knowing exactly what line of thought went through each of our minds.

First of all, we were all stunned by the perfect timing. But I knew Leorio was dreading an impending headache when his bespectacled gaze fell upon Kuroro. In contrast, Neon looked delighted to have the man within her vision. I knew what followed would be a death grip hug. Kuroro knew too, the hint of annoyance revealed itself even through his plastered poker face.

"Oooh, Kuroro! What are you doing here?" Neon sprinted over and jumped onto Kuroro with her arms held tightly around his shoulders.

Kuroro easily peeled the girl off his shoulders, and with an excuse of a smile, lied through his teeth, "To escort you?"

Nice attempt to avoid trouble, Kuroro, but life wasn't that easy. It never was for me, so it shouldn't be for you either. Leorio donated for the cause with a much more appropriate line of question.

"I believe the question is 'Why were you in Kurapika's house?'" he corrected his half dazed sister.

I discreetly avoided the sudden burning gaze of a certain klutzy pink haired girl to the best of my ability, knowing full well the potential danger she held. Her annoying skill was almost a divine level.

Her pastel-green painted fingers snapped with an obnoxious click as she raised an accusatory finger at me. With a princess' demanding voice, she badgered, "Yeah, why _was_ he in your house!"

At that moment I felt the smallest urge to flip my hair and look over my shoulder with a scornful look, saying, "Why don't you ask yourself why he wasn't at _your_ house." But I didn't for there were two reasons. One, I would be acting like those pampered little city girls whose only entertainment was making other girls' lives more miserable, and acting like a snobbish girl will damage my already thinning man pride. Two, my hair was tied up.

But if I rephrased the above question like so, the damage it would deal on Neon's ego would be the same. And with hidden malice, my frosty blue gaze impaled her diminishing fiery teal eyes, whilst asking her, "I don't know. Why don't you ask Kuroro why he chose to be in my house, Neon?"

Leorio groaned something about not wanting to hear any more of this internal dispute. I wonder whatever he meant by internal. True that I pity Leorio's sibling relation with Neon, but I did not wish to be dragged down with him. Best friends left you to deal with hassling troubles like these alone.

Leorio trudged over to intercept the space between Kuroro and I. Forcefully, he voiced, "Depending on your answer, I might confiscate Kurapika."

On cue to the latter part of his statement, a vein popped on my forehead, and I instinctively kicked the back of knee. Going forward, I twisted his arm back, bending it beyond human nature. Coldly, I reminded him, "Leorio, please choose your words correctly. Do you even know what confiscate means? Or did you say that just to sound cool?"

He buckled under my unforgiving grip, and cried for his dear arm. "I know, I KNOW! SORRY! LET GO, you bastard!"

An eerie grin eased on my features. Releasing his arm, I lectured, "Don't go getting weird ideas or I will have to erase all evidence."

On top of all the fussing Leorio is giving, a shallow chuckled rang behind us. Neon who was fuming at the revelation that Kuroro wasn't at her house instead, Leorio who was soothing his limp arm, and I—we looked at Kuroro who was smirking egoistically in the corner.

"You are all over thinking this. I only went to return a book," he stated calmly as he looked over to me with a mischievous quirk in his eyes. Oh, I knew that look all too well, as ambiguous as his half lies. Then averting his gaze to Leorio, he assured, "I wasn't harassing him in any way."

Neon breathed a sigh of relief as she laughed it off and pranced over to Kuroro's side. Leorio was still doubtful, but remained silent as we tread off toward the beach.

The long walk was silent except for Neon's chatting voice and Kuroro's short replies. When we finally arrived at the steps of the beach, Neon became excited and ran in before us. Shortly, Leorio pushed past me and shot me a nasty look before running in to look for Killua and Gon.

Sometimes, Leorio can be brighter than he looked.

Kuroro calmly descended the stairs and whispered quietly to himself, "Funny people."

I pretended not to hear that piece of his mind as I followed down the stairs to the hot fine sand of the shore. Leorio was walking toward the waving hands of Gon, who along with Killua were seated on a battered makeshift cloth near the large rocks lining the far end of the beach.

Leorio pointed a finger at the ripped up sheet and glared accusingly at Killua. Killua coughed guiltily in his fist as he greeted, "Hey old man, been waiting for you guys to arrive since forever."

I stared intently at the cloth, wondering how it met its sorry fate. Eyeing Killua and Gon respectively, I interrogated, "You really couldn't find anything better?"

"This was the best one we had!" Gon chirped in. Then averting his gaze sideways, he admitted, "Until Killua ripped it."

Killua jumped at the blame and punched the other boy hard in the arm. Raising a fist, he yelled, "Don't just blame me! You were pulling it too!"

Neon who spiralled out from somewhere took one glance at the wrecked cloth and began complaining, "God you guys are like,_ so_ useless! How do you expect me to sit on that?"

Killua's eye twitched at the whining voice of Neon and narrowed his slanted eyes, rebutting, "Oh shut up, you little spoiled brat. If you hate it that much go bring your own blanket."

Neon gasped at the insult, striding over to Killua she looked down at him, seething, "I'll have you know that I'm older than you and I'm not spoiled! If anyone, you are! You always being pampered by your mommy and chased after by your crazy big brother."

The argument continued on as I settled down beside a worried Gon. I smiled at him and told him to ignore them, as Leorio ran off to bother a group of girls in front of us.

Killua groaned loudly and flailed his arms in the air before bringing them down in front of his chest. With one last counter, he ended the conversation, "Then go ask your boyfriend over there to get you a goddamn blanket from his shop! You noisy bitch," he spat crudely at her and then turned to sit down across from Gon.

Neon whipped around with a huff and walked over to Kuroro. "Fine! Let's go get a blanket for _ourselves_, Kuroro!"

Without so much as a grunt, Kuroro breathed something akin to a sigh and tagged after a furious Neon.

The rest of us waited for the beginning show to commence. Killua was fondling his backpack full of sweets, popping a chocolate ball into his mouth every ten seconds. Gon and I wondered where Leorio left to when Neon and Kuroro were already back with a good conditioned cloth.

Gon grunted worriedly as he absentmindedly built a tower with the sand. He mumbled, "Maybe we should look for him?"

I heaved a sigh and volunteered, "I'll go then." I rose from my comfortable position and dusted my shorts. Walking around Killua's bored gaze, I grumbled, "Don't start a fight."

He flashed an innocent smile I wasn't too certain about, but left anyway. When I walked past Neon chatting on her blanket beside Kuroro, she clasped her hands and stopped me in my tracks.

"Wait, Kurapika! Can you buy some drinks for us on your way?" She stuck out he lower lip and begged me with her puppy dog eyes.

I pushed back the insistent urge to roll my eyes and held back another sigh. Ruffling my long bangs with one hand I nodded. "Sure."

In my mind I planned to find Leorio first and make him pay for everyone's drinks, since he so cleverly left us for some girls. As I turned around, Kuroro rose up and hooked his fingers around my wrist, pulling me back. He interrupted me when I looked around, ready to scream in his face for nearly tripping me, "Wait. I'll go instead, you should look for Leorio. The show is going to start soon."

I glanced at him strangely, cocking my head to a side. I wasn't entirely sure what difference it would make regarding who went, but if it was to save time, this would be more efficient.

I stumbled back into balance and watched as he walked past. When he brushed past me, a quick flash of a smirk danced on his lips. Softly, he whispered in the air beside me, "You don't have to play along with the Princess' fantasy."

As the words melted in the back of my mind, I had a vague idea what he meant.

I subtly scanned the faces of the ones sitting down and staring curiously up at me. Judging by the way Killua's violet orbs that sparkled with a piqued interest, I guessed he heard what Kuroro had whispered in my ear. Though Gon was usually the one with a sharper hearing, he seemed too busy sneaking a candy out of Killua's bag now that his attention was diverted. Neon only displayed a pout now that Kuroro was gone and she was left alone with the two boys.

I attached a smile on my face as I said, "Okay, so I'll go look for Leorio now."

Killua perked with a new interest as he elbowed Gon in the side, wearing one of his toothy grins. "Forget that! When did you guys get on such good terms?"

Neon turned around to frown upon the far-fetched tale Killua just spilled. "Stop saying nonsense, Killua. Kurapika told me before that they never get along!"

Killua snickered with an arm around Gon. He looked to Gon and with a hand between his lips and Gon's ear in a mockery of a whisper, he announced quite boldly, "Hey, Neon's jealous."

I mentally cursed the fickle nature of the white haired boy. Ignoring the second phase of Neon and Killua's argument, I turned to search for another problem maker.

There were times like these when I wondered why I had such difficult friends.

And when I finally sighted the doctor in training all the way down the other end of the beach, the fireworks were already booming and painting the black veil of the night sky a spectrum of colours. I swept my bangs up my forehead, groaning in annoyance. After moving past all these people, I was getting warmer than comfortable. Dropping into a crouch in the middle of a mass of strangers, I rested my head on my arms propped on top of my knees. _Maybe I should just leave Leorio be._ It was certainly too much trouble than it was worth.

When I was still contemplating my thoughts, a sudden flood of coldness spread across the nape of my neck. The foreign coldness shocked me and I abruptly jumped forward. Hands and knees sinking into the infernos sand, I turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Having fun?" Kuroro inquired with a bag full of drinks in one hand and a can of pop in the other. I eyed the can of pop and then back at him.

Straightening myself up in a standing position, I seized the can from his hand. Frowning slightly, I said firmly, "Frankly, no."

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><p>Thank you for reading! Please tell me if you prefer GLITCHED to be angst or fluff, either in review or the poll I'll put up in my profile! There are 2 possible plot lines this story can follow! And I'm stuck between them. ;(<p>

P.S. IT'S THE 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF GLITCHED! ...In two days.


	10. Ten: Fickle by Right

**A/N: **So...how are my precious readers fairing? Do you hate me now? Do you?! Well I accept all you complaints and hatred with open arms. School started a month ago and a lot of work was assigned, especially with English class. But then Hunter x Hunter 2011 got super exciting and I just had to had to write again! Anyway, at this point of the story, I confused myself and so I felt like I should remind you readers too.

Kuroro is a heartless bastard that loves nobody! Not even himself (I think). But that's why fangirls love him so much. With that being said, there's not much going on in this chapter.

And for the first time, a shout out to the reviewers because I can and I should! **Thank you to Verona. Gu, Lazy Gaga, MARYLOVER, Shizuka03 **for making me smile and encouraging me!

EDIT: April 24, 2013

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Fickle by Right<strong>

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><p>The sky was gloomy behind showering clouds. This was the first rainfall of the summer and coincidentally, this weather correctly depicted my current mood.<p>

My state of melancholy began from a phone call that was at first the bringing of good news, but became something not befitting the adjective with the announcement of a certain name. One that I was not entirely fond of.

~x~

_"Hello?" I monotonously answered. _

"_Hey, Danchou. It's me. I found the box you were looking for," the usual calm and collected voice of my trusted subordinate reported with righteous confidence. _

_I nodded with a half-smile at her unerring work efficiency. "Good work, Machi. Then to bring it over—"_

_"Actually, Danchou, he said he will take it over since he has business there," Machi cut me the slack of my musing with her calm interjection. _

_I stared steadily down at my hand, batting my eyes at the brow-raise worthy statement. Firmly, I repeated, "_He_?"_

_There was a quiet grunt of apprehensive agreement before she restated with words, "Hisoka will."_

_She tasted the unreliable feel to that name and quickly added, "Should I stop him?"_

_I remained silent for a well thought out second and weighed the name beside the box and its content. With a stiff quietness to my voice, I approved. "It's fine. Let him."_

~x~

I had come to the epiphany that Hisoka was a rebel of the norm after working in an environment with his abnormal work habits and disturbing personal characteristics for one too many months. He had always been a rather _wavy _character—a stark contrast of a common straight man. Even his hobbies that he so proudly exhibited were without a doubt kissing the boundaries of criminal. But I ignored his extreme ways of lifestyle with a mask of ignorance as long as he worked efficiently—and one would be surprised to know of Hisoka's immense network. A bit of white lies and under the table business did not bother me. If anything, that would be my forte. But I must clearly point out that I was intelligently more discreet about it than Hisoka. And I think that mattered a lot.

I leaned into the chipped wooden bench and dropped the hardcover novel down on my lap. It was close to noon, the promised time of his arrival and the ship was barely on the tangent of the horizon. My erratic attention attached itself to the slowly docking humble-sized ship that carried with it a few regular vacationists.

As the meek looking little ship safely finished docking at the harbour at the east end of the Mineral Beach, the single-digit passengers marched out onto the planks of the port. I spotted the eccentric man of my interest clad in his equally eccentric outfit. Unexpected though, was the lanky man with opaque deadpan eyes that stalked behind him with an even light pace. Notable by his long black flowing hair, I was soon able to identify the man as the oldest son of the blacksmith family, Illumi Zoldyck.

Such a combination was both unexpected yet strangely fitting. My impression of the oldest Zoldyck son was a man that was more than eager to manipulate people for his own personal benefits, and so because of this speculation I kept my distance. But even to expand his intellectual network, to be willingly associated with Hisoka in such public premises meant this son must be quite the enigmatic figure himself. I however, was in no position to be making such assumptions, albeit accurate, considering my current position.

But putting that aside, I stood up and waited as Hisoka approached me with a smug expression on his face.

"Hey," he greeted me after throwing one of his Joker cards that was aimed at my eye with impeccable precision. Naturally, I managed to catch it before it made contact.

I nodded in response and immediately glanced at the box he held in his hand so carelessly. That irked me. This was another reason why I did not want Hisoka put for this job.

"Oh. You wanted _this_," he said with a coy tone of voice. His eyes as always were in their squinted form, observing me.

"Yes." I took the box from his offering hand and inspected the contents in a business-like fashion. Nodding in approval, I said with my business voice retained, "Good work."

Then from behind Hisoka, the Zoldyck grunted a languid goodbye and turned to head back into town as Hisoka waved and chirped, "Thanks for the help as always."

While I watched their short exchange, I was suddenly curious about Hisoka's business here. And even if it was unlike me, I chose to ask for it somewhat worried me. "What is your business here, Hisoka?"

He grinned at me with his usual taunting eyes, and knowing exactly where I was coming from, he assured, "It's not business involved, really. Just something personal this time. I discovered a very promising new fruit. However this time he's not ripe enough to relish yet."

That answer had me at a loss for words in a way that made my hollow stare that penetrated his questioning gaze more meaningful than it held merit for. That last sentence that came out of his mouth implicated a crime that would cause mothers endless grief.

Hisoka produced a soft chuckle and leaned closer toward me, swaying his hips ever so disturbingly. "Don't worry. It's not the kid you bother with. Even though stealing the ripening fruits from other people's palms taste exceptionally better, I think this time I'll have fun nurturing one myself."

I hummed without a hint of emotion as I wondered to myself just how old this "fruit" of his was. Not that I particularly wanted a vocal answer for that thought.

With my lack of reply, Hisoka chose to instead wander his eyes along my figure with an evil kind of lust melting from his gaze. I pretended not to notice his pinpoint scrutiny and without further ado, dismissed him. "You are dismissed."

~x~

I took the wooden box that I received from Hisoka into the back of my storage room and found a clean spot for it to fit snug in between rows of other valuables. I pried open the top of the enclosed box with a screwdriver and proceeded to take out the antique ceramic vase that felt velvet to the touch. I took a moment to admire the ivory blue hues of the eastern ceramic before I transferred it into a padded glass case on the second shelf. Taking a step back, I sighed in content, happy with my newest collection. Although it was for certain that I would end up selling the vase for triple its market price when I had marvelled enough and become bored.

The analog clock that ticked away in a corner of the storage room read an early afternoon time. Glancing around the room, I noted that there was not much to do, considering the rainy weather would prevent any customers from coming. Ergo, on rainy days, I usually closed the store and spent it as a day off.

Dusting my hands off, I exited the storage and locked the door before I rounded the corner and walked back to the counter. Retrieving my bag from under the counter, I pulled it over my shoulder and climbed up the winding stairs just to the left of the storage room up to my living quarters on the second floor.

Walking on the mahogany parquet that extended across the moderately sized living room which also played the role of my bedroom, I hung my bag on the coat hanger to my left and marched over to the faintly faded charcoal leather couch. There was no bed in this so called bedroom, except one long sofa and a smaller, rounder couch. I felt more comfortable sleeping on a couch than lying down on a bed. Besides, the worn dark grey colour of the couch held a special kind of cozy feeling that enchanted me every time.

I reclined into the cool leather surface and breathed a breath of satisfaction. Darting my attention up to the empty white ceiling above me, I felt like I could see myself as a soul that floated outside my body, burning the vivid image of my calm marble face that expressed nothing and my unclouded black eyes that looked at the ceiling with a distant interest into my retina.

But my real interest was in what Hisoka said this morning. No, actually, it wasn't exactly in what he said that interested me, but rather how his words twisted in my head and made an uncanny similarity to another topic. I liked to think of myself as a man who had absolute control in himself and issues that involved him. That alone should put me apart from Hisoka who walked around with an impulsive lust. But even still, the weird thought that I was something much like Hisoka nagged at the back of my mind. My one-sided dedication to invade and overthrow Kurapika's mindset had just a slight similarity in intention to Hisoka's. Of course, in reality I wasn't doing anything close to the extents Hisoka would go to release his sexual frustrations. The fact that what I was doing was still legal proved a lot for my case. And I had an inkling that Hisoka's victim was barely in his tens.

Not to mention I was doing this with the pure motive of easing my frequent boredom, and I would only go as far as mental infestation. I was not even thinking of being in physical contact with him in any way more than a teasing graze. That was a point I wanted to make clear, in case anyone was misunderstanding me.

I did not do romantic relationships. Attachments were a hassle and jealousy was annoying.

And as one could tell with my commitment toward my antique collections, I was fickle. Very fickle.

The tip of my pale lips crawled up into a foreshowing of my mastermind plans. I tapped my finger against the armrest of my favourite couch and closed my eyes as I freed my mind of its nagging.

Fine, I'll admit. In a way, I was crueler than the jester that was a walking world hazard. Still, I knew I wouldn't get bored of Kurapika until a long while, because the objective to invade his mind and infest it with myself was a game near impossible to beat. That was what intrigued me to begin with.

There was nothing I couldn't do if I wanted to, and this statement lived true in my twenty-four years of life.

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><p>Okay, so with the ending, we all know that this will 90% be angst. ;D I must say, writing angst is much more fun, and even though I suppose I suck at it, I will choose to do so. I don't even know if I can write fluff, because I haven't tried for ages.<p>

Thank you for reading and reviews are appreciated~


	11. Eleven: Toward a Different Path

**A/N: **HELLO READERS! I miss you guys so very much! Even though I've lied, betrayed and abandoned you guys on multiple occasions, I hope there are still some of you who are willing to forgive me. Being a writer is hard! I'm much more of a reader. I figured this out after i don't know, what four years of writing? I must say, I should never be allowed to write anything other than a one-shot. This is the sad reality of a short attention-spanned teenage girl at the height of her high school career. I've been studying quite hard last year and I've been getting satisfactory grades because of that. This year I hope to study VERY hard and get VERY satisfying grades because its the year that matters the most. **So it's sad but I can only make time to write during this holiday.** I wish I can complete this series, unlike how I just killed off ILY, GB... No matter how many years this will take, I will complete this!

I honestly just finished this chapter and I wanted to share it with the world so much, I'm going to post a 2k chapter. With a title I will now attempt to pull out of my anus.

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Toward a Different Path<strong>

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><p>"I'm tellin' ya. That's the one I want!" A badgering voice that bore the hoarseness of man long past his youth echoed across the room and bounced back with twice as much passion. An angry finger and thumb snagged onto my outreached hand and pinched the skin until it turned a fair crimson.<p>

I pulled my hand back with a start and stared with disbelieving eyes as the elderly man stubbornly climbed his way up on the chipped ladder. Quickly, I tried to stop the man again before he climbed too far. "Sir, please wait! I will get the book for you, so please come down!"

He turned to look down at me with his jaded brown eyes, knotted thick brows and lopsided pale lips. His eyes travelled toward my firm grip on his shoulder as he tried again to shake me off. I placed both hands on him this time and repeated, "Please get down. It's dangerous."

He squinted behind his heavy lidded eyes and began shouting a string of proud statements of his younger days when he had no problems climbing up steep mountains till dawn, but he stepped down from the ladder obediently.

"Thank you," I whispered after a sigh of relief.

I climbed up on the ladder and reached up for the spine of the book that the man had wanted when a dull chime sounded from behind me. I turned around in anticipation.

"Hello—"

"Hey, want lunch?" a daring voice sang with a casual bravado.

My gaze fell upon the man marked with St. Peter's cross, standing in front of the check-out counter. With a vehement glare in my eyes, I coldly recited the foremost protocol of the library. "No food or drinks are allowed in the library."

"Oh, I forgot. Then I—"

"So are ya goin' ta get my book after telling me ya more fit ta climb that thing than this old body or not!" a familiar barking bit me of the side and demanded my return of attention.

I hurriedly dipped my head in apology. "I-I'm sorry. I will get it immediately."

I quickly pulled the book out by its red spine while a soft voice mumbled behind me the remainder of the sentence from earlier, "—will deliver your lunch to your kitchen table."

My head snapped backward on cue to trace after the man guilty of those words, doomed to only find soft chiming of metal in his trace. And despite my itching need to run after a disappearing man and what sounded like the clink of my house keys, I must first help this important guest properly check out one of my precious books.

~x~

I kept close to the door on my adjacent as I cautiously slumped into the sturdy back of a fairly new chair. There was a hardcover novel balanced between my palm and my lap, my eyes skimming over the yellowed pages and keeping watch of the people who passed by the large front window at the same time.

Multitasking as I was, my free hand that was not supporting the novel fiddled with the slight jewel that hung from my left ear. Every few seconds or so I peeled my gaze off the fictional pages and dedicated my focus solely on the window in front of me. That criminal lurking about would definitely return. And he was quite skilled, experienced at that—a ninja of sorts. Appearing and disappearing between fractions of a blink of an eye.

A few minutes, and what later became hours passed before the slightest hint of jet black marred on ghost pale marble blurred by my faltering focus.

An irksome twitch that ran along the line of my lips turned into a shaky smirk at the corner. "The criminal always returns to the scene of crime."

A soft breath exhausted from the criminal's mouth as a response, his throat hovering carefully over the defence of my hard cover novel erected as a last minute fortress. A pleasant gleam of surprise glazed over his dark eyes and a careful grin donned his lips.

"You have a quick reaction time." He retracted the hand he had been fast enough to place on the back of my chair, leaning away from my book. But I followed forward with my book upheld and gaze hardened.

"And I suppose you have come to _return_ something?" I said with much emphasis on the latter verb.

He brought his pale hand down on top of my book and eyed me with his blank gaze, pushing just slightly in face of a challenge. "Are you threatening me with the blunt edge of this book?"

I scoffed at his dull questioning tone. "Not so much a book but maybe legal rights?" That had come out more of a question than a statement suggesting the events of the previous day in which I had my house key stolen by a shameful excuse of a man known to the world as Kuroro Lucifer.

And the said man smiled down at me with a look that implicated the innocence of an angel all the while clutching my key between his guilty fingers. And I must point out that his poker face was becoming rather irritating.

"Relax, I was just about to return what I borrowed," he eased off the building tension with a careful wave of his hand, and my key was back in the safety of my palm.

I closed my finger around the cold metal of the key and glared up at his expectant eyes. He was waiting for my reaction, enjoying his usual twisted games. I seethed, "Borrowing requires permission from the owner. What you did was stealing."

His hand flew past my head and in my short moment of startle, just one sixth of a second, he leaned in and whispered a scandalous confession in my ear. "Stealing is part of my job description."

With gritted teeth, I reached out in a desperate attempt to seize this escaping phantom as he so liked to promote himself, but he was by the door before my fingers could grasp a thread of his black top.

His gaze travelled toward the table I was sitting on previously, my gaze followed after. Before my attention was regained, the door slammed shut with the sound of bells chiming and his satisfied voice declaring, "Here is today's lunch delivered by yours truly."

~x~

The following week went by with similarly eventful afternoons. There was nothing I could do to stop the man from doing as he pleased.

But I was an adaptable and rational person. If Kuroro Lucifer so persisted to be my lunchtime menu, then I would be a sensible person and avoid the irritable man for it wouldn't just be our gaze clashing the next time I see his face. So today, I had planned to leave the house despite having a day off which I usually spent between the cozy comfort of my couch and a book. Even though I could just lock every door and window to my house, I had the instinctive feeling that the dark haired man would somehow magically find his way into my sanctuary. Hiding in Gon's ranch was the first that came to my mind, but I knew he would find me there too. Killua always hung around Gon anyway so no point staying with either of them. There was also Leorio, but if I could help it, I would rather not spend my whole day with him. Not to mention the liaison that Neon was to Kuroro.

Alas, I came to the conclusion of secluding myself amidst a forest of trees in a corner of the mountain top with my duffle bag set as a pillow between my back and a tall tree and a novel propped in my hand.

My morning was, thankfully, quiet and pleasant. I was enjoying a much needed time alone to relax for I can't seem to find myself alone during my breaks recently.

Yes, my morning was a breath of fresh air.

Then came the shift in the breeze, the silencing of nature, the unnatural swaying of foliage: the end to my morning and peace.

The novel in my hand snapped shut. My bag came out of its place between the hollow of my back and tree bark and onto my shoulder. I was up on the balls of my feet, ready to chase after my fleeting peace. I managed to speed walk through a cluster of trees without appearing to be running away, but the rest of the route was blocked before me.

"Leaving already?"

I looked up to the pale stoic face I had been evading—unsuccessfully—the past week. His eyes, hair, hands—anywhere I looked would feed the already exploding urge to right hook the man in the ear and hopefully cause him deafness in one ear, since he didn't seem too fond of using it anyways.

But I dug my nails into my palm and remained still. Lately I noticed I had been having more violent bouts when really, I wasn't a violent person. As a person, I was against violence. It was a last resort tactic up my sleeve and I plan to keep it up there. If I were to resort to violence now, it would mean I was at my wits end and to be honest, that was a sad thought.

"How do you keep finding me?" I groaned through clenched teeth. I could already feel a headache forming.

"I just so happened to see you around when I was out for a walk," he retorted with a voice that spoke all seriousness, but judging from what I heard yesterday and the day before that, he seemed to coincidentally walk into me at the same time every day.

"I see. Then I'll just walk away," I said as I walked around him and continued down my path.

He turned around and got in my way again. "And I also happen to have an extra set of lunch."

"I don't care. Move," I demanded before I started stressing beyond quota.

Kuroro stared at me silently as if he hadn't heard me. Then with a cock of his head, he said, "Kurapika, we've been through this enough times. Stop being difficult and follow the drill."

Oh, really now. "Kuroro, we've been through this enough times. Sit yourself down and eat the 'extra set of lunch you so happen to have' yourself like you always end up doing."

"Then stay and watch me eat like you always end up doing." I cringed at the truthfulness of that statement.

"Why do I have to stay and watch you eat?" I asked bitterly.

"Because if you don't I'll tell Neon to bring you along to another picnic," he said through his sandwich.

I scoffed. "So you've resorted to threatening me now?" I sat down anyway.

"If it works, then yes," he replied with a grin.

I watched as he emptied the other contents from his plastic take-out bag.

"Is it fun?" I hummed halfheartedly, not expecting a serious reply, but nevertheless curious. I glanced at him and he lowered his head to meet my gaze. "Bothering me, I mean."

His brows rose with surprise at my forwardness. His lips twitched into a smirk. "Very fun."

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><p>P.S. I realize there may be some inconsistency with my grammar from here on and I am too lazy to correct the past chapters, so I will leave it as it is. You may or may not notice these inconsistencies, but either way, please spare me. I wish upon any God for my fic to have proper grammar and flow. I find it to be important to every story, so I will try to keep things as perfect as my imperfect human mind can. From now on. For old readers, I have edited some past chapters and haven't changed anything important to most of them except for chapter 8. <strong>I advise readers who haven't read the revised edition of chapter 8 to please do so!<strong>

(I'm too scared to say this normally so I'll say it in brackets: Kuroro and Kurapika are so OOC, I want to jump off a cliff and murder a baby panda. But let's just say this is a crack fic and oversee my misdeeds. LOL. I'M SORRY KURORO, KURAPIKA, I KILLED YOUR CHARACTERS.

P.P.S I tried to fix some OOCness in previous chapters. Especially Kurapika.)

Anyway, please review and thanks for reading! I will try to reply to reviews as of now!


	12. Twelve: Hidden Pitfall

**A/N: **Woohoo I think this was a pretty quick update. I think It's still within a week. First I want to thank all the readers who read my fic because thanks to you guys GLITCHED HAS 4000 HITS! To me, that's a lot. And thank you reviewers! You make my day! I seriously love you guys! Anyway this is where the plot starts to thicken!

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Hidden Pitfall <strong>

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><p>Tuesday, day eight of Project Lunch. A day to be remembered.<p>

"Kuroro!" Neon bounded out the library's front door, laughing and screaming with her shrill teenage voice. "Hey, where are you going? You're going to the library right?"

I glanced at the humble building behind her. _Strange. _"Yes, I am."

I watched as she squealed and laughed below me. She placed a delicate finger on her chin, saying, "I wish I could stay and keep you company, but I promised to meet up with my friend. You remember her from when I introduced you guys last year?"

I leaned back on my heels and scanned through the many faces in my memory bank. A girl with a small face and nervous green eyes stood out. If I remembered correctly, she was a quiet and shy girl.

"I think I do. Was her name Marie?" I asked amiably.

"Yup! That's her! So I gotta go now," she admitted with sheepish giggle.

"Oh, don't let me keep you. Go on," I said as I stepped aside.

Neon came up and threw her arms around me in a hug before running past me with her long pink hair bouncing behind her.

I turned around and returned down the path toward the library. I pulled the door open, hearing the bells chime above my head. Brushing a hand through my sticky hair, I breathed a sigh and relaxed in the relatively cooler indoor air.

"Hello?" I called out into the silent building. Surprisingly, there was no one coming to greet me.

I walked upstairs hoping to find Kurapika in front of a bookshelf or two. Indeed, he was standing in front of a bookshelf, staring intensely at labels and categories.

I cleared my throat. "Is this how you treat your patrons?"

He didn't bat an eye at my taunt. Instead he pulled out a handful of books and rearranged them on a higher shelf. Distractedly he said, "No. Just you."

I had to grin at that. "Well I'm honoured. Did you learn to read footsteps while I've been busy?"

He mumbled softly, "Ah, something like that."

And I was neither surprised nor skeptical that he did. This kid was full of possibilities.

I walked to the area where I always sat in comfort as I watched Kurapika work. As I got to the sofa, I noticed a basket on top of the long table. I sat down in front of it and realized that the basket was woven in a feminine design with ribbons integrated between straw. There were corners of a checkered handkerchief hanging from the edges. _Neon._

"I thought food isn't allowed in the library," I reprimanded the librarian. Crossing one leg over the other, I provoked, "Or are you playing favourites."

He looked over his shoulders with a frown, regarding the guilty basket momentarily before returning to sorting books with a sigh. "She 'insisted' I take it. I tried refusing her, but Neon never does listen."

"Hmn," I hummed thoughtfully while leaning back into the sofa. Staring up at the ceiling, I envisioned the whole scenario. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing?" he answered apprehensively. Sensing an oddity in my behaviour, he asked, "Why?"

_Strange_. I propped my elbows on top of my knees and cupped my chin in my palm. Smiling, I said, "Just thought it was unusual that Neon would bother to cook for you on a whim."

He paused in his work, turning to look at the basket again before placing his book down and striding over. He must have found it unusual too.

Opening the lid to the basket, he peered into its contents. On one side was a plate of curry rice and on the other was a bowl of curry noodles. Kurapika groaned a string of incoherent words and pushed the basket toward me. I watched his face blanch and eyebrows knot before I concluded with a quirk of my lips that Kurapika did not like curry. In any form.

"Here. Since you didn't bring any lunch with you today, you must be hungry. Eat it," he pointed at the basket.

I stared at him quietly as I tried to follow his logic. If I hadn't brought lunch with me, wouldn't that mean I already ate? Not to mention the food I brought along with me were meant for him.

But I was curious about the curry rice and curry noodles Neon especially made for Kurapika. It was odd for Neon to cook for Kurapika when she had never—without an occasion—gone out of her way to give me her homemade food.

"Why not?" I reasoned. _Because worst case scenario is I die from food poisoning._ This wasn't the first time I risked myself to satisfy my curiosity anyway.

I pulled the basket in front of me and fished out the plate of curry rice. I gave the curry rice a once over. I looked up to Kurapika's disgusted oceanic eyes and smirked. "Since I'm doing you a favour, you have to help me with my work later."

The blond caught my gaze and held it in search of my ulterior motive. Dropping his gaze, he seated himself on the opposite sofa with a huff of defiance. "And why would I do that?"

"I wonder what Neon will say when she finds out you gave away her hard work. I wonder how long it will take me to convince her to keep making you curry dishes," I humoured.

His brow twitched and he raised a hand to massage a temple. "You _would_ threaten me."

"If it works, then yes."

~x~

6:00 PM: shops had closed; people were eating dinner in their cozy homes. I was standing at the mouth of a mine with an irritated blond beside me.

The reason the blond might have been so peeved was probably because of the task I was demanding from him. To show he was adverse to the idea of digging down many levels of ground and dust, he rooted himself beside me and refused to move.

"I am not doing labour work for you because of a plate of curry," he stated quite clearly.

I sighed and turned to face him. "I only need gold ore, so we'll only be down three floors. I'll let you keep everything else."

He groaned. "Why do I keep ending up doing labour work with you? And I don't want your leftovers."

But he went into the mine anyway. His actions often contradicted his words. I kept quiet following him in lest he changed his mind.

We travelled down the stairs of the first three floors and stopped on the fourth floor. I took off my bag and pull out our equipment.

"You take the hoe," I said as I handed Kurapika the hoe.

I took the hammer for myself.

"You will dig for the ore. I will crack open the ore lying around to see if they're gold in the meantime," I monotonously instructed the blond with my hammer at hip.

Thus we began our four hours of painstaking, backbreaking and energy-draining labour. When nothing remotely valuable appeared, even I was starting to get a little frustrated halfway through. Gold was never this scarce before.

I tossed away another dozen of junk ore. At this point, I would be glad to even find copper ore—no, even Black Grass would help.

"What have you found so far?" I asked an equally frustrated Kurapika.

"Meagre amounts of coins, two pieces of Black Grass and dust," he counted out his Black Grass and looked up to me. "You want the Black Grass? I've eaten two already."

I reached out to take it from his hands and it didn't take longer than two seconds for me to consume and digest them.

Was today a bad time to mine? Had someone already mined all the gold before us? As I hammered another pile of ore Kurapika dug up, I couldn't stop the redundant questions from swarming my head.

By the time I finished evaluating the value of my current pile of ore, Kurapika came over and dropped a larger piece of ore at my feet.

"If this one isn't gold, I'm leaving," he confidently announced. I wasn't sure if his confidence came from his desire to leave or if he really did find a good ore.

After giving the large ore a look, I felt a twinge of hope. I carefully hammered away at the edges and when a faint glimmer of yellow sheen reached my eyes, peace and content washed over my dark dusty face like the warm bath water of a winter night. This might have even been happiness.

"Finally," we both cheered in unison.

After a moment of celebration, I placed the ore and our tools into my bag. In the beginning I was expecting a lot more gold ore, but seeing how long finding one gold ore took, I wasn't planning on mining further.

"That took longer than expected," I mumbled through a sigh.

"I feel cheated," Kurapika complained as he rubbed his sore hands together.

A slight smile pulled at my dry lips when I said, "I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow."

"Please don't," he pleaded.

We traversed the three flights of stairs to be greeted by long awaited fresh country air. I inhaled the evening breeze and looked up to the dark sky splattered with twinkling stars. I exhaled and inhaled again. Again and again.

Kurapika had already walked ahead, leaving me standing by the entrance of the mine like a breathing statue. When my lungs squeezed out another breath, I felt a pang at my ribs. My chest suddenly felt tighter with every breath and when air came out of my trachea, it came out in short painful gasps. Then I realized I wasn't breathing anymore; I was wheezing. The dark night scenery became engulfed by blinding white lights in my eyes and I felt my weight shift to my head. In a second, I felt my knees on pebbled terrain and my face on damp dirt.

Tuesday, day eight of Project Lunch, Kuroro Lucifer had collapsed.

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><p>Kuroro my dear, this is what I feel like when I forget to save and collapse from fatigue. And lose a lot of money. But I'm sure you didn't go down from something as common as fatigue, right? Ha-ha-ha...<p>

Thanks for reading and please review! Until next time lovelies!

P.S. I seriously need to start writing longer chapters. LOL. Kill me.


	13. Thirteen: Circumstantial Theories

**A/N**: Okay, I finished this at 1AM. Nothing to say here except that shit is going to get real. Read and review, please!

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><p><strong>GLITCHED: Circumstantial Theories<strong>

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><p>He keeled. Kuroro Lucifer keeled.<p>

Everything was fine up until the point when we left the mine. Neither of us had shown extreme signs of fatigue. He even looked to have a fair amount of energy left after the mining, so what was I to think when I heard the loud thud behind me? I was shocked in and out. My eyes bulged and my tongue lost its words when I turned to confirm that yes, the one man who never showed any sign of weakness had collapsed.

Embarrassing as it was, the only thing happening in my brain was the repeating of three words. _Kuroro Lucifer fell._

However I was pulled out of my daze when I heard a low predatory growl above me. Instinctively, my head snapped toward the source of sound, but before my eyes could capture the image, the thing jumped from the cliff above the mine and landed close behind my back. My body pushed me back to where Kuroro lay on reflex and turned to face the thing.

The thing was in fact a wild dog common to this area. This wild dog was also known as a coyote. A lone coyote wouldn't have been too much of a problem since I grew up in this town and had learned strategies to protect myself from the more violent wild animals. At the moment, I had two options. I could easily distract it and make my escape, but that would leave an unconscious Kuroro as an easy meal. As annoying and hateful this man could be—leaving an unconscious man to die was against my morals. I could also scare the coyote off and hope it didn't come back, but that was cowardly and still left a chance of it coming back.

_Great. Life is just wonderful._

Since I wasn't going to go against my morals or become a coward, the only way out was to think of a new escape plan and create an option three. Just for Kuroro.

I held my gaze firm with the coyote as I surveyed the surroundings from my peripheral vision. One trail down to town, but it was blocked off by the coyote. Dense forest on either side of us, the mine was behind us. Considering everything based on our success rate, the Goddess Pond to our left had the highest success rate.

If I could get Kuroro with me and make a break for the pond before the coyote could attack, then my escape plan would work out perfectly. The issue was whether I could be faster than the Coyote while I was carrying Kuroro. Whether I could or not, I chose to trust in my own speed and reflexes for the moment. Assuming the coyote would hesitate before jumping in the pond I hooked my arm under Kuroro's shoulder and made a dash for the pond.

I didn't check to see if it was following after us until after I felt my skin in cold water. And I was right. It stopped chase right at the edge of the pond. It may have been able to swim, but I didn't think it would want to haul two bodies from the water. A small smile graced my lips before it faded away when I realized my grasp on Kuroro was slipping. The man was not light.

I put both my arms around his chest, trying to keep his upper body afloat. Then the final part to my escape plan came to life.

"I was wondering if this was some human sacrifice ritual," the Harvest Goddess mused as she materialized above our bobbing heads, showering mossy glitter and dust onto my face. She looked down into my half-lidded eyes with her magnetizing verdant gaze and I knew my plan was a success.

"So little Kurapika seems to be in some trouble. I am glad this is not a sacrifice ritual after all," she chuckled before adding, "Do not worry. I will ask the coyote to leave for today."

And the Goddess swooped down to the coyote's level, reaching out a translucent hand toward the creature. It sniffed her open palm and its whole body relaxed with a sense of comfort. The goddess hummed a melody in a singsong voice, lulling the dog to a state of conscious sleep. I stared in wonder at the now docile animal curled into a fetal position with its eyes closed.

The Goddess retrieved her hand and returned to her previous position above our heads.

"Kuroro should not stay here any longer," she spoke down to me. I chanced a glance at Kuroro and against the night, his skin looked three shades paler. I clicked my tongue.

"I can't bring him back myself," I admitted truthfully.

The Goddess nodded and swooped down in front of us. Placing a finger on both of our foreheads, she said, "I will send you two to the clinic in town. The doctor will know what to do."

Then with a wisp of moss coloured dust we were gone.

~x~

"Doctor Nostrade, I have the report finished," a steady voice announced in front of the curtains of Kuroro's unit.

After some shuffling of fabric and feet, the doctor emerged from behind the white curtains.

"Leave it on my desk," he instructed in his gruff voice.

Walking over toward me, the doctor stuffed his large hands into his coat jacket. He cleared his throat and greeted, "Kurapika. I've diagnosed Kuroro and it would seem that he had been poisoned. It was a lethal poison that would have killed a man once symptoms showed. Consider Kuroro a lucky man to have survived ten hours. In fact, this is a miracle."

I straightened in my seat. _Poison?_ Many things came to mind with that diagnosis, but before I made any assumptions, I stood up and asked, "Doctor, what kind of poison was it?"

"It was methanol."

"Methanol?" I repeated, appalled. "But you must be treated within two hours of consumption in case of methanol poisoning."

"That's why I said this is a miracle. He must have some level of immunity to methanol, but to still survive after ten hours of no treatment is something. Anyway, I have treated Kuroro already, so you may visit him if you wish," he said before turning away toward another room.

I stared at the curtains of Kuroro's unit. I was caught between two choices. I really did not want to visit him and give him any strange ideas, but if he was awake, I had a lot of questions I wanted answered. I was still putting the pieces together in my head, so I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Yet I couldn't help but assume I was somehow involved, because ten hours before he collapsed we were together in the library.

Once my contemplating stretched into minutes, I gave up to temptation and strode into his unit. As to be expected, he was asleep.

The next logical step was to ask someone of the forte to confirm a few things. Therefore, I took out my cellphone and dialed Leorio's number. The tone rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Leorio, I just wanted to confirm something with you," I started. Hearing a grunt from the other side, I continued, "Methanol is odourless and clear, right?"

There was a brief silence on the line before he mumbled in confusion, "Uh, I would say it has a faint smell of alcohol. Yes, it is clear. Why do you need to know? Something up?"

I chewed along the inside of my lower lip, adding the information Leorio confirmed into my deductions inside my head. Monotonously, I replied, "Kuroro got poisoned."

In the background I heard something about Neon or Leorio coming and where we were, but I was too preoccupied now to focus on the phone. Kuroro had awakened.

"Oh," I fumbled for the words to articulate my thoughts, seeing how Kuroro looked both calm and disgruntled at the same time.

"That was…unexpected," he slurred in his half-conscious state, his pale hand running along his angular jaw.

"Think about how I felt when you just collapsed. You were poisoned by methanol," I stated. "What did you eat today?"

Even though I probably knew the answer to that question, I asked just for the record.

"The regular breakfast and your curry rice," he mumbled in a hushed tone.

I dropped my head back and the sigh I have been holding in finally left my lips in a drag. "It's the curry rice."

_Why was there methanol laced in the curry rice Neon made? I'm assuming she didn't accidentally put in methanol instead of water or alcohol, so why was there poison in the food she cooked for _me_! _Kuroro watched me with his head propped on his hands, most likely thinking the same line of thought.

"I knew something was strange," he whispered quietly to himself and if the clinic wasn't so silent I would have missed it.

I narrowed my eyes at Kuroro's calculating expression. I crossed my arms in front of me, squeezing the sides of my arms as I interpreted his expression. It was hard to admit, but I returned Kuroro's whisper with another murmur. "So Neon put poison in my food?"

I said "put poison" specifically because for now she was the most likely suspect for the poisoning. Whether she "wanted to poison" me—or anybody—was still hard to discern.

But who was better to ask than the girl herself?

Neon must have heard my previous conversation with Leorio because not even one minute later she thundered down the stairs connecting the clinic and its top floor, the Nostrade's residence. Neon footsteps were headed straight toward us.

"Kuroro!" she yelled his name and it rang throughout the corridor. Following the echo was her delicate hands pushing apart the curtains behind me. I sidestepped to avoid her running into my back. She disregarded my presence and made a beeline for Kuroro. She clasped his hands in hers, screaming, "I heard you were poisoned! Where does it hurt? Who did this? You can tell me; I'll hire guys to get them!"

I squeezed my eyes shut as I thought. _It can't be Neon. She's a pampered innocent girl. _But given how she lived in a clinic with so many chemicals and medicine... No, there shouldn't be methanol in the clinic. So even if she wanted to poison me, she wouldn't have known where to acquire the poison. And she was never a good actress to begin with. If she had accidentally poisoned Kuroro in the end, she wouldn't have been able to pull off such a natural act.

I turned around and slipped through the curtains, heading in the direction of the stairs. I silently climbed up the flight of stairs and walked down the corridor to stand in front of Leorio's room. I knocked twice before I pushed the oak door open.

"Kurapika?" Leorio's amused voice called from his desk.

I waved and briskly went to sit on the edge of his bed. I looked up to find Leorio's green eyes behind tinted glasses staring anxiously down at me. I brought a hand up to feel the pointed jewel hanging from my ear as I released a breath from my nose.

"Aren't you going to explain what the hell is actually going on?" he seethed as he usually did when his patience ran short.

I crossed my arms and looked firmly into his eyes. "Kuroro was poisoned by methanol when he ate the curry rice Neon made me."

Leorio's eyebrows made a jump when he heard the part about the Neon and the frown on his lips broke apart as he shouted, "WHAT?"

I averted my gaze, waiting for him to digest the thought of his little sister being a suspect of attempted murder. Once he sounded like he had settled down a bit, I continued, "She would be the prime suspect, but assuming the clinic doesn't hold methanol, I'm kind of skeptical where she would have gotten it from. Alas, we cannot say for sure Neon laced the curry rice with methanol. And so I've come to once again confirm if you actually keep methanol in your clinic and to investigate your kitchen."

"I'm positive there isn't methanol in our clinic. But still! How am I supposed to believe there was methanol in Neon's cooking! Good thing I never eat her food anyway," he mumbled the last part to himself.

I cleared my throat. "Whether you believe it or not, it's a fact. We're checking out the kitchen."

Leorio hesitantly nodded and led the way out to his kitchen. He pushed around a few chairs and looked through some drawers. "I don't really know the ingredients for curry rice, so I'm not sure where to exactly look."

"Uh, curry powder, rice, vegetables? Look in the trash bin to see if there are any disposed bottles or containers." I walked to the trash bin and checked for myself, noticing nothing other than potato skins and a box of emptied curry powder.

When there was nothing suspicious in the trash, I looked around the counter where a tray of condiments lay. Salt, sugar, pepper, spices, but no alcohol or anything in liquid form.

"Anything up there, Leorio?" I asked as he came down the chair he used to reach the top cabinets.

"Herbs, dried fruit and berries and that's about it," he said after relieving a sigh. He was glad there wasn't anything incriminating Neon.

There wasn't anything in the kitchen. There wasn't anything...

"Check her room, Leorio. I'll go speak with Neon now, since she should be done with Kuroro." Because more than finding who wanted me dead, I had a feeling that if we didn't identify this person, things would only get even more complex.

* * *

><p>To be honest, the future plot I've planned for GLITCHED is so goddamn fluffy and cute it makes me, the author, want to kill myself. I cannot handle this intense fluff, THINGS MUST CHANGE!<p> 


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